Buckle Up
Kyle Veremans

Seatbelts are the thin nylon lap and body harnesses that we wear in automobiles. We wear them because they can save our lives. I knew the importance of seatbelts, yet I never had a first hand experience until about a week ago when I was driving along the 10 Freeway in the far left lane when my wheel axle gave out causing my car to swerve into the far left shoulder, and then on the center divider rail. There was a great deal of damage to the front left side of my car, yet I was able to get out, shaken up, but unharmed.

Most people don’t take seatbelts seriously. Many even think that seatbelts can be an annoyance, yet car crashes were the leading cause of deaths for Americans ages 3 to 33 in 1999. When asked how often he where’s his seatbelts, sophomore Anthony Guy said, “All the time, my mother forces me to.” Airbags combined with seatbelts save people from harm and death in a collision, while seatbelts help to prevent injury or death from accidents. If a seatbelt is not worn during an automobile crash, the human body can fly in the direction the car was moving until the body hits something like a seatbelt or steering wheel. The internal organs still move forward while the body is flung into a barrier. This can cause them to hit other organs or the skeletal system. This "internal collision" often causes serious or fatal injuries.

Seatbelts reduce the risk of injury and prevent death in an accident because they distribute the forces of rapid deceleration over the larger and stronger parts of the body, like your chest, hips, and shoulders. Seatbelt laws in California and most of America are becoming very strict, because too many people die every year in car accidents. If a person is pulled over and are not wearing their seatbelt in the state of California, they can expect a $41 ticket for the first offense and $105 for repeated offenses.

I know it was because I was wearing my seatbelt correctly during my car accident that I am still alive today. No one can know when an accident is going to happen until it is happening, and that is why I will always wear my seatbelt. Take a moment to buckle your seatbelt whenever you go in a car, even if it’s just down the street.