This Thanksgiving law enforcement agencies, including the Jefferson police department and the Greene County sheriff’s office, will ramp up patrols and be on the lookout for seat belt violations.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the 2014 Thanksgiving holiday, 341 vehicle occupants were killed nationwide in traffic crashes. Fifty percent of those fatalities were not wearing seat belts. In Iowa, five people were killed over the 2015 holiday.
NHTSA reports that wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of a fatal injury by 45 percent. Ejection from a vehicle is one of the most dangerous incidents that can happen to a person in a crash. Eighty percent of passenger vehicle occupants totally ejected from vehicles were killed; only one percent of the belted occupants were totally ejected during a crash.
Who is more likely to not wear a seat belt? In fatal crashes males are more likely to be unbuckled (53 percent) than females (40 percent) and drivers aged 13–15 and 25–34 accounted for 59 percent of the fatalities in 2014. (NHTSA)
Wearing your seat belt is the single most effective way to save your life and the lives of your loved ones in the event of a crash. Failing to buckle up is dangerous and against the law. Remember: Click It or Ticket!
