November 21, 2003

OPINION

Buckle Up: Remember or Be Remembered

By Shari Kaplan

Over the past couple of weeks, print and TV news sources alike have given us depressing coverage of automobile accidents in which young, unbuckled South Bay residents were ejected from their vehicles and killed. Not a great way to prepare for the holiday season, is it? I think this is as good a time as any to address the drivers and passengers who still—whether accidentally or on purpose—do not wear seatbelts.

For the Thanksgiving holiday and again during Christmas and New Year's, Caltrans is broadcasting "Buckle Up: Remember or Be Remembered" on many of its Amber Alert freeway signboards, as it did last year.

I applaud whoever came up with the slogan, because it is simple yet powerful. However, I have no such admiration for the people who chose to ignore it—irresponsible folks whom I witness at least once or twice every time I drive anywhere. I find these people's actions both incomprehensible and reprehensible, especially when the unbuckled passengers are children.

The facts and figures provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) are sobering. In 2002, 12,432 car, light truck and large truck passengers wearing restraints (which includes children in safety seats and adults wearing seatbelts) died in car crashes. The number of unrestrained people who died in crashes last year is much higher: 17,650.

Let's look at this in a more positive way. In 2002, the number of restrained people who survived "fatal crashes" (severe enough that one or more individuals died) numbered 32,880. Only 12,796 people were lucky enough to survive such crashes unrestrained.

In case my facts and figures seem too removed from "real life," I've also prepared a little Q-and-A. For every reason I've heard on why people dislike safety belts, I have an appropriate reply.

• "My life is determined by fate. The events leading to my death are inevitable, so why should I care?"

California state law makes no exceptions for fatalists. An unrestrained child passenger results in a minimum $100 fine if seen by police, while the fine for an unrestrained adult passenger (or driver) is $20. And that's just for the first offense—penalties get worse for repeat offenders, and all offenders have the infractions noted on their driving records. So why lose money and credibility? Even if you are a fatalist, at least buckle up for the friends and family members who love you and don't deserve to worry about your well-being.

• "But I'm a slow and careful driver!"

Fatalities involving unrestrained passengers have been reported at speeds under 20 miles per hour. And no matter how slowly you drive, that doesn't offer protection against other drivers who may be speeding at the moment they hit you.

• "My car is equipped with air bags."

According to FARS, 6,553 lives were saved between 1987 and 2000 thanks to air bags, but this doesn't specify whether the people were also wearing seatbelts. To me, wearing safety belts in an air bag-enabled car is like wearing earmuff-style hearing protection on top of foam earplugs at a shooting range—there's no harm in taking double protection!

• "What if my car is on fire or underwater and I need to get out fast?"

It's true that some people have died in fire or water because they couldn't release their seatbelts. However, this is the exception, not the rule. In general, a seatbelt will hold you in place and keep you conscious, which is of critical importance for thinking clearly in the moments following a crash.

• "Safety belts are too darn uncomfortable!"

That's true for some people, but the alternative is worse: Fly through the window, break your neck and relax in a cushioned wheelchair for the rest of your life.

• "Safety belts mess up my clothes!"

How about a nice, smooth body bag instead?

Shari Kaplan is an Almaden Times Weekly staff writer.