| Buckling Up - The Facts |
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 Seat belts reduce the risk of serious injury and death by 40% - 60%. |
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When crash victims are unbuckled, their medical treatment costs are on average 50 percent higher than those who are securely buckled. |
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A seat-belted driver has a better chance of maintaining control of the vehicle during and immediately following a collision, protecting passengers and others on the road. |
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Seat belts aren't just for the front seat. If you are in the back seat and not belted, your body becomes a lethal weapon, moving forward with enough force to break the back of someone riding in the front or to cause serious brain injury. |
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Effective June 9, 2009, new provisions require everybody of all ages in every seating position in the vehicle to be buckled up or riding in an approved child passenger safety restraint. Also, law enforcement officers will now be able to stop and cite drivers and passengers who are not buckled up. This primary enforcement provision gives the seat belt use law the same status as every other Minnesota traffic safety law. |
 Air Bags |
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Infants should never be placed in the front seat of a vehicle with a passenger-side air bag. An air bag is too powerful for an infant's fragile body. |
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Put distance between you and the air bag. Drivers should move as far as possible from the steering wheel to give the air bag room to deploy and dissipate its energy. A space of 10-12 inches is recommended between the chest and the air bag module. Passengers in the front should double this distance due to the size of the passenger airbag. |
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Use seat belts! Air bags offer supplemental protection in frontal, and in some newer vehicles, side collisions. Your primary protection in all kinds of crashes is the seat belt. It is the single most effective item of safety equipment in a motor vehicle. |
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Grip the steering wheel at nine o-clock and three o-clock, with thumbs on the face of the steering wheel. |
Kids |
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The back is where it's at for children 12 and under. Child safety seats are not always compatible with all rear seating positions in vehicles. Read the instructions for the child safety seat and your vehicle's owner's manual carefully. |
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Children model adult behavior. If adults do not buckle up consistently, children will not either. |
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Effective July 1, 2009, a child who is both under age 8 and shorter than 4 feet 9 inches is required to be fastened in a child safety seat that meets federal safety standards. Under this law, a child cannot use a seat belt alone until they are age 8, or 4 feet 9 inches tall. It is recommended to keep a child in a booster based on their height rather than their age. Check the instruction book or label of the child safety seat to be sure it is the right seat for your childs weight and height. |
Drivers' Reasons for Non-use of Seat Belts
(Survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, March 2000) |
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I'm only driving a short distance (56%) |
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I'm driving in light traffic (24%) |
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I forgot to put it on (53%) |
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I don't want my clothes wrinkled (9%) |
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I'm in a rush (40%) |
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The probability of a crash is too low (20%) |
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The belt is uncomfortable (37%) |
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Other (8%) |
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