IT ONLY TAKES A SECOND TO SAY GOODBYE..

REMINDER TO SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS: You are not protected by compartmentalization. Use your seatbelts. It's the law!

SEAT BELTS & AIR BAGS 
...Use all you've got 

 

A combination lap/shoulder belt greatly reduces your chances of being seriously injured in a motor vehicle crash. The lap belt prevents ejection and protects your lower body. The shoulder belt keeps  your head and chest from striking the dashboard or windshield. In vehicles with automatic shoulder belts and manual lap belts, it is extremely important to buckle the lap belt.

 

Air bags DO NOT take the place of safety belts. Even if your vehicle is equipped with air bags, you must properly "BUCKLE-UP!" to ensure maximum protection during a motor vehicle crash.

 

You are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured if you are thrown from your vehicle. The forces in a motor vehicle collision can be great enough to fling you as far as 150 feet - about 15 car lengths.

 

It only takes a second to say goodbye. 

When a vehicle crashes into a stationary object the physical changes to the front of the vehicle traveling 55 mph take place faster than the mind can comprehend. One second we see a whole vehicle - the next a pile of twisted shapeless metal. 

 


Don't let this happen to you! 

What follows is a description of what happens to a driver in less than one second who is not wearing a seat belt as compared to a driver who is wearing a seat belt. Should you wear a seat belt? You decide. In a second, all you can do ...is say goodbye!   

 

Assume that all red printing refers to a vehicle driven by a person who is not wearing a seat belt

 

All blue printing refers to a vehicle driven by a person who is wearing a seat belt.

    

 

 

 

ONE TENTH OF A SECOND
The front bumper and grill work collapses. The pendulum mechanism of the restraint system engages.

TWO TENTHS OF A SECOND
The hood crumples, flies up, and smashes the  windshield. The legs of the driver straighten and snap at the knees. The driver is thrown forward against the seat belt. He is showered with glass and receives minor cuts.

THREE TENTHS OF A SECOND
The driver's body leaves the seat going forward. The frame of the steering wheel begins to bend. The driver's head is near the visor; his chest above the steering wheel. The driver is still held firmly in the seat.

FOUR TENTHS OF A SECOND
The rear of the vehicle is airborne and the vehicle's speed is 35 mph and decelerating. The driver is still traveling at 55 mph. As the vehicle decelerates to 35 mph, the driver almost mirrors the rate of deceleration.

FIVE TENTHS OF A SECOND
The driver, frozen in fear, bends the steering column up almost vertical. He is impaled on the shaft. Steel punctures the legs and arteries. Severe internal injuries occur. The vehicle decelerates sharply and whips the driver's head back against the head rest. At most, the driver receives a concussion and whiplash.

SIX TENTHS OF A SECOND
The impact separates feet from shoes. Because of inertia the shoes remain in place while the feet move upward and forward. The brake pedal shears off. The head smashes into the windshield.   
Remember, injuries that have occurred before the driver hits the windshield are enough to be fatal. 		Because the seat belt is bolted to the frame of the vehicle, the driver remains seated. 
The injuries received are minor to moderate, the driver is still alive!

SEVEN TENTHS OF A SECOND
The entire body of the vehicle is forced out of shape, the front seat flies forward, pinning the driver against the sheering shaft. The neck snaps from the blow on the windshield.  The shock of impact freezes the heart. The driver is dead. The passenger's side of the seat flies forward, the driver's side stays in place and so does the driver. If the driver is not pinned in he can easily unbuckle his seat belt and walk away!

SEAT BELTS & AIR BAGS 
Use all you've got

A message from the Arizona Department of Public Safety
and the Governor's Office of Highway Safety.

close window