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Importance of Seatbelts—Why Wear Them?

Are you the kind of driver who only wears a seat belt when other people nag endlessly? Or are you the nagger of the group? If you belong to the latter category, rejoice! For we are going to supply you with more ammo for your nagging.

And if you belong to the former category, buckle up!

We’re going to take a rickety ride down the road of why seat belts are so important.

What’s the Deal with Seatbelts, Anyway?

Seat belts are the single most important safety instrument in a vehicle. Yes, airbags are helpful, but they’re nowhere near being as effective as seat belts (The nice, intelligent people at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee have proved so).

So What If I Don’t Wear a Seat Belt?

If you’ve been the victim of excessive nagging about the dangers of seatbelts, without having an inkling why that would be so important (you’ve been fine so far without using seatbelts, so why should it matter now, right?), here’s something to give you a little perspective:

https://www.scienceabc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ezgif-com-video-to-gif.gif

That robot that had his head smashed right into the windshield? And the one right behind him who was propelled forward and probably had his neck broken, wrists shattered and knees blown out, yeah. That could be you.

Sounds dire?

Oh, wait. We haven’t even reached the worst part yet.

What Happens If I Don’t Wear a Seat Belt?

Not wearing a seat belt? Newton might judge you.

                                                                                           You blithering fools!

 

Hard

                                                               I gave you the knowledge, you uncultured peasants!

 

Well, it all begins with what we call Newton’s laws of motion.

The first law goes along the line: things in motion tend to stay in motion unless hit by a force. This means, if you’re not wearing a seatbelt and driving at a certain speed, say DUMB, then in the case of a collision, the car would be stopped by the impact of the crash (hitting force). Because you have not yet collided with anything, you would continue to move forward at the same speed until you crash out of the windshield (and probably onto the pavement or the back of a truck).

And this till isn’t the worst part.

What’s the Worst that Could Happen?

You could die in terrible, terrible pain.

There are three collisions in a car crash:

  • When the car collides
  • When the force propels you forward until you crash onto a part of the car or fellow passengers
  • When your organs collide against the bones or other organs

This third collision is the worst of all.

Think of a rattle. When you shake it, the pellets inside collide against the inside of the shell or each other. In a car crash, you’re the rattle.

The outside of your body may only get a bruise, but its’ the internal organs that suffer most, and lead to fatal injuries. Seat belts are designed to act as the force to stop your motion by absorbing the impact (better a seatbelt than out of the windshield).

So, yep. Seat belts are as important as your life.