The National Safety Commission Alerts
Safety is No Accident
Monday, March 08, 2010
Car Seats Aren’t Just A Place To Sit
Military aircraft mechanics are fond of asking a trick question; "What is the primary purpose of an ejection seat?" The answer: to provide a place for the pilot to sit. The secondary purpose, hopefully never used, is to provide a fast, safe means of escape from a crippled aircraft. While cars don't have ejection seats, the car's seat is, never the less, a very important piece of safety equipment. Most drivers tend to think of the car seat in terms of comfort and appearance while ignoring the fact that the seat is a critical piece of safety equipment in a crash.
The most common type of crash on America's roadways is the rear- end crash and the most common injuries drivers experience from that type of crash are whiplash and spinal injuries. The reason for this is simple. One of the laws of motion says "an object at rest wants to remain at rest." While sitting in a car seat, your body wants to remain at rest. If you are struck from behind by another vehicle, your body will want to remain at rest while the car is rapidly pushed out underneath it. If your seat isn't properly positioned, your body will snap back, followed by your head. This rapid snapping back of the spine and neck is what causes all the back injuries. Those of you who may have experienced this type of injury know that you don't really start to feel the muscles tense up and the associated pain until the next day. If it goes untreated, the trauma can cause long term and sometimes permanent injury.
The seats position and its ability to remain upright in a crash, is so important that the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (the folks with the crash test dummies) actually test the seat separately from the car. They remove the seat from the car, put it on the track and simulate a rear end crash to see how well the dummy fares in a crash. You can see how these tests are conducted at: http://www.iihs.org/ratings/head_restraints/head_restraint_info.html. You can also look up the seat's ratings for your particular vehicle.
Too many people now days tend to place the reclining seat slightly back and drive in a slightly reclined position. While it may be relaxing, this is a very dangerous practice. The further back the seat, the greater distance your body will be stretched backwards in a crash. To provide the greatest protection, your seat should be in the full upright position with the headrest just barely touching the back of your head. In this position, your body will be protected by the seat and prevented from snapping back so violently in a rear-end collision.
The other advantage of placing the seat in a full upright position is to help keep you alert on long trips. Leaning the seat back may be more relaxing but it can be too relaxing, allowing you to become drowsy on long trips. To take full advantage of all the safety features in the vehicle, you should adjust the seat's position so that your body is a minimum of ten inches from the airbag. Your seat belt should be fastened with the lap belt low over your hips and the shoulder harness crossing the center of the chest and centered over the shoulder. Never drive with the shoulder harness behind you. If the shoulder harness doesn't fit properly, you can adjust the position where it attaches to the car's frame. If your car doesn’t have a shoulder harness adjustment mechanism, you can purchase a shoulder harness adjustment fitting for a very low price at your local auto parts store.
Labels: air bags, car seats, driver safey, driver training, seat belt, seat belt law, seat belt safety
Friday, January 15, 2010
Should Pregnant Women Wear Seat Belts
Driving school instructors hear the question all the time; isn't it dangerous for a pregnant woman to wear a seat belt? The feeling is that the belt itself, being so tight and close to the unborn baby, could cause more harm than not wearing a seat belt at all. The answer is that, no matter what, wearing a seat belt is always the safest possible thing a mother can do. Both the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) agree that pregnant women should always wear seat belts.
To fully answer the question, one has to consider the alternative to wearing a seat belt. It's a simple matter of physics. In a crash, the unbelted occupants of a car will continue to travel at the speed the car was traveling at the point of impact. Even in a low speed crash, the bodies traveling forward and striking objects in front can do a tremendous amount of damage. A small woman who weighs 130 pounds, with the combined weight of her developing baby, striking the steering wheel or dashboard at 25 mph will experience a crash force of almost 3,000 pounds. That is going to do far more damage to your unborn baby than the seat belt.
Future mothers should also consider the possibility that, if unbelted, they could be ejected from the vehicle; striking the roadway with a tremendous amount of force and then, face the possibility of being struck by another vehicle. No matter how bad the crash, vehicle occupants are always better off restrained within the vehicle.
www.FamilyDoctor.org, the official website of the AAFP, offers the following advice:
How should I wear my seat belt?
The seat belt should be a 3-point restraint. That means it should have a lap strap and a shoulder strap. Lap and shoulder belts keep you from being thrown from the car during an accident. The shoulder strap also keeps the pressure of your body off of the baby after a crash.
Be sure to wear your seat belt correctly. The lap strap should go under your belly, across your hips and as high as possible on your thighs. The shoulder strap should go between your breasts and off to the side of your belly. Seat belt straps should never go directly across your stomach. The seat belt should fit snugly. If possible, adjust the height of the shoulder strap so that it fits you correctly.
What about air bags?
Most experts agree that air bags are safe and can protect pregnant women from head injury. The air bags in your car should not be turned off when you are pregnant. To be safe, you should move the seat back as far as possible and tilt the seat to get some distance between your belly and the steering wheel or dashboard.
Air bags are not a substitute for a seat belt, so always wear your seat belt even if your car has air bags.
Where should I sit if I'm a passenger?
Where a mother sits has not been shown to affect the safety of an unborn baby in a crash. However, if you are not driving, you should sit in the back seat. Injuries from car crashes tend to be less serious in people who are sitting in the back seat. It is still important to wear a seat belt.
What should I do if I am in a car crash?
You should get treatment right away, even if you think you are not hurt. Most injuries to the baby happen within a few hours after a crash. Your doctor needs to check you and your baby as soon as possible after a crash, especially if you are more than 6 months pregnant.
To fully answer the question, one has to consider the alternative to wearing a seat belt. It's a simple matter of physics. In a crash, the unbelted occupants of a car will continue to travel at the speed the car was traveling at the point of impact. Even in a low speed crash, the bodies traveling forward and striking objects in front can do a tremendous amount of damage. A small woman who weighs 130 pounds, with the combined weight of her developing baby, striking the steering wheel or dashboard at 25 mph will experience a crash force of almost 3,000 pounds. That is going to do far more damage to your unborn baby than the seat belt.
Future mothers should also consider the possibility that, if unbelted, they could be ejected from the vehicle; striking the roadway with a tremendous amount of force and then, face the possibility of being struck by another vehicle. No matter how bad the crash, vehicle occupants are always better off restrained within the vehicle.
www.FamilyDoctor.org, the official website of the AAFP, offers the following advice:
How should I wear my seat belt?
The seat belt should be a 3-point restraint. That means it should have a lap strap and a shoulder strap. Lap and shoulder belts keep you from being thrown from the car during an accident. The shoulder strap also keeps the pressure of your body off of the baby after a crash.
Be sure to wear your seat belt correctly. The lap strap should go under your belly, across your hips and as high as possible on your thighs. The shoulder strap should go between your breasts and off to the side of your belly. Seat belt straps should never go directly across your stomach. The seat belt should fit snugly. If possible, adjust the height of the shoulder strap so that it fits you correctly.
What about air bags?
Most experts agree that air bags are safe and can protect pregnant women from head injury. The air bags in your car should not be turned off when you are pregnant. To be safe, you should move the seat back as far as possible and tilt the seat to get some distance between your belly and the steering wheel or dashboard.
Air bags are not a substitute for a seat belt, so always wear your seat belt even if your car has air bags.
Where should I sit if I'm a passenger?
Where a mother sits has not been shown to affect the safety of an unborn baby in a crash. However, if you are not driving, you should sit in the back seat. Injuries from car crashes tend to be less serious in people who are sitting in the back seat. It is still important to wear a seat belt.
What should I do if I am in a car crash?
You should get treatment right away, even if you think you are not hurt. Most injuries to the baby happen within a few hours after a crash. Your doctor needs to check you and your baby as soon as possible after a crash, especially if you are more than 6 months pregnant.
Labels: driver safety, seat belt, seat belt safety
Monday, May 25, 2009
New Study Reveals That Greater Seat Belt Use Could Save Many Lives
"Click It or Ticket" Nationwide Seat Belt Enforcement Campaign Kicked Off on May 18
Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a study estimating that 1,652 lives could be saved and 22,372 serious injuries could be avoided annually on America's roads if the rate of seat belt use improved to 90 percent in all 50 states. Basing their report on 2007 data, the DOT also estimates that seat belts saved an astonishing 15,147 lives in 2007. The study's release coincided with the Department's launch of its "Click It or Ticket" nationwide enforcement campaign on May 18.
"Wearing a seat belt costs nothing and yet it's the single most effective traffic safety device ever invented," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We want to let the American people know that by failing to wear your seat belt, you not only risk serious injury or death, you also risk getting a ticket."
From May 18 to May 31, the "Click It or Ticket" campaign will be in effect. Involving more than 10,000 police agencies, the mobilization is supported by $8 million in national advertising funds allocated by Congress and coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The ads, airing in English and Spanish, promote awareness of the intensified enforcement efforts and the increased chance of receiving a ticket if you are not wearing a seat belt. The commercial spots are aired on television, radio, and the Internet.
The NHTSA's National Occupant Protection Use Survey estimates that the national seat belt use rate remained steady at 83 percent in 2008. Yet one of five Americans still does not buckle up regularly.
Secretary LaHood, in a speech before students at a suburban Virginia high school, noted the worrisome reality that seat belt use rates are comparatively low among teenagers. Of the 4,540 16-to-20 year old passenger vehicle occupants who perished in 2007, 2,502 were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Teen belt use rates are particularly low at night. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the 16-to-20 year olds killed in nighttime crashes in 2007 were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
"Young people often think they’re invincible. Yet like everyone in a passenger vehicle, they're tremendously vulnerable in the event of a crash," Secretary LaHood said.
Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released a study estimating that 1,652 lives could be saved and 22,372 serious injuries could be avoided annually on America's roads if the rate of seat belt use improved to 90 percent in all 50 states. Basing their report on 2007 data, the DOT also estimates that seat belts saved an astonishing 15,147 lives in 2007. The study's release coincided with the Department's launch of its "Click It or Ticket" nationwide enforcement campaign on May 18.
"Wearing a seat belt costs nothing and yet it's the single most effective traffic safety device ever invented," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "We want to let the American people know that by failing to wear your seat belt, you not only risk serious injury or death, you also risk getting a ticket."
From May 18 to May 31, the "Click It or Ticket" campaign will be in effect. Involving more than 10,000 police agencies, the mobilization is supported by $8 million in national advertising funds allocated by Congress and coordinated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The ads, airing in English and Spanish, promote awareness of the intensified enforcement efforts and the increased chance of receiving a ticket if you are not wearing a seat belt. The commercial spots are aired on television, radio, and the Internet.
The NHTSA's National Occupant Protection Use Survey estimates that the national seat belt use rate remained steady at 83 percent in 2008. Yet one of five Americans still does not buckle up regularly.
Secretary LaHood, in a speech before students at a suburban Virginia high school, noted the worrisome reality that seat belt use rates are comparatively low among teenagers. Of the 4,540 16-to-20 year old passenger vehicle occupants who perished in 2007, 2,502 were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash. Teen belt use rates are particularly low at night. Almost two-thirds (65 percent) of the 16-to-20 year olds killed in nighttime crashes in 2007 were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
"Young people often think they’re invincible. Yet like everyone in a passenger vehicle, they're tremendously vulnerable in the event of a crash," Secretary LaHood said.
Along with motor vehicle safety, driver education helps ensure the safety of Americans. Whether you're getting your Commercial Drivers License, your Learner's Permit, or your Motorcycle License, America's Driver's License Headquarters is TestQuestionsandAnswers.com.
Labels: click it or ticket, safety belt, seat belt
