Saved by Seatbelts A View from a State Trooper

If you want an honest opinion on why people should wear seatbelts - you go to those who are on the front lines of seatbelt enforcement. North Dakota Highway Patrol trooper John Clemens has seen just about everything and he'll tell you that seatbelts are a form of safety you can't live without.
"Seatbelts greatly increase your chances of surviving a crash or avoiding serious injury," Clemens said. "Anybody who has seen those crash test dummy commercials know what happens in a car crash. The car stops once it hits, but the body continues in motion until it's stopped by the steering wheel, dashboard or the windshield. If you have your seatbelt on, your body is going to be held in place, and you won't hit anything."
North Dakota's seatbelt usage rate has improved from its lowest ranking in the nation at 48 percent a few years ago to 58 percent in 2000, Clemens said. But still, 75 percent of people killed on North Dakota highways last year weren't wearing seatbelts, according to statistics provided by the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Forty-six people were killed in single-vehicle rollover crashes, and all but four were unrestrained. Thirty-eight of the victims were ejected from the vehicles.
"I've seen a few crashes where one of the occupants was wearing a seatbelt and the occupant in the other vehicle was not," Clemens said. "There have also been fatalities in the same car with the people who hadn't been wearing their seatbelts, and the people who had been wearing their seatbelts unbuckled their belts and walked away.
"Seatbelts not only keep you in your seat, but when you have to take evasive action, you're able to control the vehicle better. Seatbelts, coupled with airbags, dramatically increase your chances of surviving the crash."
Seatbelts are especially important for children. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show more than 50 percent of all infants and toddlers through age 4 killed in vehicles were not restrained. The death rate jumps to more than 55 percent for children ages 5 through 9 and to more than 67 percent for ages 10 through 15.
North Dakota seatbelt laws require all occupants below the age of 18 be restrained, either in a child safety device, or by the use of seatbelts, Clemens said.
"This is a primary offense, which means a law enforcement officer can stop a car if they observe occupants below the age of 18 are not restrained," he said. "Occupants over the age of 18 are only required to wear the belts if seated in the front seat of the car. If stopped, this is a secondary offense, meaning there has to be another reason why the officer stopped you."
A seatbelt ticket in Grand Forks will cost $71. If ticketed by a NDHP officer, it's $20. A child restraint law violation carries no fine, but one point will be assessed against your driver's record.
Drivers not only are responsible for buckling their own seatbelts, but also for all passengers, Clemens said. This is not only for the safety of the other occupants, but for the driver's as well. In a recent Japanese study, research showed up to 80 percent of front-seat occupants who die in car crashes could have been saved if their back-seat passengers were wearing seatbelts.
Their study found that the risk of death to drivers or front-seat passengers who wore their seatbelts was nearly five times higher when back-seat passengers did not buckle up. The unrestrained occupants end up being projectiles in the car, causing injury to other occupants who may be restrained or other unrestrained occupants.