According to the Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, Kentucky recorded a total of 672 highway fatalities in 2014 alone. Of those, 521 were in motor vehicles and 319 of them, or 61%, were unrestrained at the time the incident occurred. That’s an alarming rate. If more people would properly wear their seat belt, then more lives would be saved.
Click It or Ticket campaign
The Click It or Ticket campaign is an annual seat belt enforcement campaign held across the United States. It aims to further increase the national seat belt usage rate by increasing awareness on how seat belts can help save lives. In real life, second chances are not guaranteed. Kentucky officials believe seat belts save lives. They are now preparing for the Click It or Ticket campaign which will begin on May 18, 2015 and run through May 31, 2015. During this campaign, cops will be cracking down on motorists who are not wearing their seat belts.
Related: Seat Belts Can Be The Difference Between Life Or Death With Kentucky Drivers
Seat belt laws in Kentucky
Here in Kentucky, wearing your seat belt is a primary law. Anyone in their vehicle who is caught not wearing a seat belt can be cited and fined. Why is Kentucky so strict on seat belts? Kentucky’s strict because seat belts are known as the single most effective safety feature in vehicles. Properly wearing your seat belt is highly recommended because of its effectiveness in reducing the risk of motor vehicle-related injuries and fatalities. In fact, a seat belt lowers your risk of injury and death by 45% for front-seat passengers and 60% for light truck occupants.
Seat belt facts
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that rates of seat belt use are higher by an average of 9-14 percentage points in states with primary enforcement than those in secondary. Since the primary seat belt law’s passage on August 1, 2013, Kentucky’s seat belt usage rate, according to Kentucky Office of Highway Safety, increased from 67.2% in 2006 to 86.1% in 2014. The national average is 87%.
There’s a myth that wearing a seat belt is like being strapped to your death in a car crash. Contrary to this myth, properly wearing your seat belt gives you the biggest chance of surviving an accident with fewer injuries. Also, airbags only serve their purpose when deployed in combination with seat belt use. Otherwise, you would be ejected from the car or hit your head in the interior of the car. Seat belts and airbags save lives.
Related: Are Airbags Life Savers?
How do seat belts work?
Seat belts spread the impact across parts of your body so that not one is stressed more than another. The sudden change in speed during a car crash causes injuries and when you’re wearing your seat belt, you are allowing your body to slow down and remain in the same spot. You prevent yourself from being thrown out of the car.
As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I fully support the Click It or Ticket campaign. Our cooperation is also one way we can be good role models to our young drivers, the ones most vulnerable of motor vehicle-related crashes. Let’s all make proper seat belt use a habit, not just during this campaign, but for every single time we’re behind the wheel. It will save lives.