Lack of Seatbelts Puts Everyone at Risk

A new report published by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) suggests that some people have not fully made the connection between objects in motion and the life-saving capability of seatbelts, especially those in the back seat of a car. Researchers found a remarkable number of people who use seat belts in the front of a car fail to use them in the backseat of a vehicle.

Seatbelts and the Law of Motion

Sir Isaac Newton discovered three laws of physics called the Laws of Motion. The first law is the one which plays a direct role in the use of seatbelts for saving lives during a car accident. It states that an object in motion tends to remain in motion, traveling in the same direction and speed unless something interferes.

When a car is traveling forward at 65 miles per hour (mph), the driver, passengers, and any objects within the car are also traveling at 65 mph. If the car crashes into a stationary object, the rate of speed at which anything within the car not secured will travel forward is 65 mph. Therefore, if a person is not wearing a seatbelt in the back seat, the person will travel to the front of the car at 65 mph. They will likely collide with the passengers in the front, which are stationary if wearing their seatbelts.

Consider that the speed at which an average person can throw a baseball is between 60 and 75 mph. Imagine getting hit in the head with a baseball, then imagine two heads hitting with that force. That is what happens when someone in the back seat does not wear a seatbelt.

What the IIHS Report Found

The IIHS report discovered that people wear seatbelts when traveling in the front seat. Ninety-one percent do so, but the figure dropped to 72 percent when the same people got into the back seat. Remarkably, the figure dropped even more when people took cabs or used ride sharing services such as Lyft and Uber. Only 57 percent reported using a seat belt in the back of the car.

Cherry Hill Car Accident Lawyers at DiTomaso Law Know Seatbelts Save Lives

The purpose of a seatbelt is to keep anyone within a vehicle as motionless as possible during a car accident. In New Jersey, passengers are required by law to buckle up. If you have been injured in a crash due to another’s person negligence, let our Cherry Hill car accident lawyers at DiTomaso Law help you. Contact us online or call us at 856-414-0010 or 215-426-4493. We serve clients throughout South Jersey and Southeastern Pennsylvania, including Mount Holly, Camden County, and Philadelphia.