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Click it to protect lives, reduce injury, save money

Memorial Day law enforcement mobilization begins May 18

One simple move — just a few seconds of time — could save a life. It could save your life. Protecting lives, reducing serious injury and saving money may be as simple as clicking a seat belt.

Would you ever ride a roller coaster without the harness down? Certainly not. Would you ever skydive without a parachute? The first time would be your last. But when you ride in a motor vehicle without a seat belt, you are taking a huge, unaffordable risk.

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) will support efforts to increase statewide safety restraint use May 18-31. ITD urges all motorists—drivers, passengers, front seat, back seat, all ages—to buckle up every time. It is the single most effective way to avoid being killed or injured in a crash.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there were 9,580 unbelted vehicle occupants killed in crashes on our nation's roads in 2013. Last year, 97 unrestrained people died in Idaho traffic crashes. State law requires all vehicle occupants to be properly restrained, no matter where they are seated in a vehicle. Fines for violating Idaho's safety restraint laws range from $10 to $69.

ITD joins NHTSA and law enforcement agencies statewide to increase Idahoans' safety restraint use. More than 60 Idaho law enforcement agencies will participate in the high-visibility mobilization effort, with officers dedicating extra hours to educate citizens and strictly enforce the state's safety-restraint law during the 14-day period that includes Memorial Day.

Seat belts save lives. In fact, from 2008 to 2012, they saved nearly 63,000 lives. And in 2012, an additional 3,031 lives could have been saved if all unrestrained occupants involved in fatal crashes had worn their seat belts. In Idaho, an additional 49 lives could have been saved in 2013 if everyone had been buckled up.

Idaho's safety restraint use rate in 2013 was 82 percent; the national rate was 87 percent.

"Eight out of 10 Idahoans are buckling up because it's the single most effective thing you can do to protect yourself in a crash. And, it's the right thing to do for your family, friends and the community," said Sherry Jenkins, with ITD's Office of Highway Safety. "Failing to wear a seat belt puts you and your passengers at risk for serious injury or death."

"The people killed are not just numbers. They were family members that never made it home," explained Jenkins. "They leave behind families who mourn their loss."

In addition to increased patrols and zero-tolerance enforcement, ITD wants to get the right information out to motorists. There are too many false notions out there about seat belts. Young adults, in particular, seem to think they are invincible in vehicles. They are dying at a disproportionate rate because they are not wearing seat belts. Almost twice as many men are dying in vehicle crashes compared to women, and wearing their seat belts less than women.

Pickup-truck occupants think that they don't need to wear their seat belts because they mistakenly believe their large vehicles will protect them in a crash. The numbers from NHTSA tell another story: 63 percent of pickup-truck occupants killed in crashes were not buckled up. That's compared to 43 percent of passenger-car occupants who were killed while not wearing their seat belts.

During the seat belt enforcement period, an important part of the safety message to motorists includes the words "day and night" – and for good reason. In 2013, approximately 59 percent of passenger-vehicle occupants killed during the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. were not wearing seat belts.

There's a significant economic component as well: The cost of injuries and fatalities was $773,000 for the properly restrained, but more than $1.02 billion without safety restraints used. That means it cost Idahoans nearly $230 million more because some drivers and passengers chose not to buckle up.

"Next time you head out on the road, make sure you and everyone in your vehicle are buckled up," Jenkins advised. "Do it so you arrive at your destination safely."

The safest strategy: Buckle up every trip, every time.