Give the gift of life, buckle up
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This holiday season when you are thinking about gift giving, think about giving the gift of life. Buckle Up Montana Coalitions, along with local law enforcement agencies, would like to remind everyone to buckle up. Properly worn seatbelts and child safety seats that are properly used and installed correctly are your best protection in the event of a motor vehicle crash. They would also like to remind us that the law in Montana requires seat belt use for all passengers as well as properly restraining children in child safety seats.
In the time period of Jan. 1, 2012 to Nov. 4, 2012 there were 185 fatalities on Montana’s roadways. Preliminary 2013 reports show that during this same time period, Jan. 1, 2013 to Nov. 4, 2013, there were 201 fatalities. More than 75 percent of those who were fatally injured were not buckled up.
Passengers are 25 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle if they are not wearing a seat belt. Vehicles are built with a reinforced safety cage to protect the occupants of the vehicle in the event of a crash. Within that cage is the best chance to survive a crash because there is room to live if the passengers stay in the vehicle. Wearing a seat belt properly will keep passengers inside the vehicle, therefore giving them room to live.
When worn correctly, seat belts have proven to reduce the risk of injuries and fatalities. Seat belts are the most effective piece of safety equipment in a vehicle, but remember - no one in the vehicle is safe unless every passenger is buckled up. In the event of a crash, if even one passenger in the vehicle is not buckled, it puts all the other passengers at risk of colliding with the unbuckled person.
This holiday season give your family and friends that gift of life. Buckle up every one, every trip, every time.
For more information, please visit www.buckleup.mt.gov.
