Talking Points: What the “Traffic Safety” Lobby Dosen’t Want You to Know

Traffic Safety Lie #1: “No one has ever been trapped in a automobile due to a seatbelt.”

The Hard Facts: People are trapped in autos after wrecks all the time due to seatbelts - and some people die from it. So-called “traffic safety advocates” have no proof that wearing a seatbelt has never contributed to a death, but we have plenty of cases where people have been injured or killed as a direct result of seatbelt use.

Stockton, California “Toyota Said to Be Responsible for the Burning Death of Raminder Singh“, Associated Content, 10/27/2007

“…approximately five years ago, Raminder Singh and his son, Gurinder, were riding in the Singh’s Toyota Corolla, when they were forced off the road by another vehicle. Both were wearing their seatbelts. When their vehicle came to a stop, Gurinder Singh was able to unlatch his seatbelt and get out of the car. However, bystanders were unable to get Raminder Singh’s seatbelt to release, and he burned to death when the car erupted in flames.”

Azle, Texas: “Hanging from Seatbelt No Problem for Azle Teacher“, Azle News Online, 10/25/2007

“The teachers, however, were trapped in the Tahoe, which came to rest on its driver’s (Byars) side, on the side of the road. The teachers waited calmly while volunteer firefighter Wayne Wood carefully pulled Byars out. Ballew was hanging from her seatbelt for about 20 minutes”

“It took Wood about 10 minutes to cut her free, remove glass and help her out. Ballew, meanwhile, was strapped in, in the air.”

Traffic Safety Lie #2: “People who don’t wear seatbelts make my insurance more expensive.”

The Hard Facts: Insurance is expensive for many reasons. First and foremost, insurance companies are for-profit corporations whose sole motive for operation is to generate the most profit possible for shareholders. As such, rate increases do not always represent a more exposure to liability, instead, they can simply be a product of the company’s desire to produce revenue for shareholders. Additionally, insurance is also expensive because insurance companies employ large numbers of people as lawyers, claims adjusters, investigators, etc. whose sole purpose for existence is to get the company out of paying legitimate claims that the company is obligated to pay. No source is needed for this statistic, just ask anyone who has had a claim denied and had to fight to get it paid.

Traffic Safety Lie #3: “Seatbelts reduce traffic accident fatalities.” and/or “People who wear seat belts are safer drivers.”

The Hard Facts: According to the NHTSA’s “National Occupant Protection Use Survey”, Seatbelt use in the United States was at 58% in Fall, 1994. In 2006, the national use rate was up to a national average of 81% - an increase of 23%. Using the logic of today’s so-called traffic safety advocates that every seatbelt worn saves a life, we should notice a corresponding 23% statistical decline in the number of deaths on our roadways. But the statistics do not show this to be the case.

The top six states for seatbelt use (in 2006) were as follows: Washington (96.3%), Michigan (94.3%), Oregon (94.1%), California (93.4%), Puerto Rico (92.7%) and Hawaii (92.5%). The chart below shows the number of fatalities in each of these states each year, according to The Fatality An Reporting System (FARS).

  Washington Michigan Oregon California Puerto Rico Hawaii
1994 640 1,421 494 4,232   122
1995 653 1,530 574 4,192   130
1996 712 1,505 526 3,989   148
1997 674 1,446 524 3,688   131
1998 662 1,366 538 3,494   120
1999 637 1,382 414 3,559   98
2000 631 1,382 451 3,753   132
2001 649 1,328 488 3,956   140
2002 658 1,277 436 4,088   119
2003 600 1,283 512 4,224   135
2004 567 1,159 456 4,120   142
2005 649 1,229 487 4,333   140
2006 630 1,085 477 4,236   161
  -1.56% -23.65% -3.44% +0.09%   +31.97%

An unbiased examination of the facts shows us that seat belts fail to produce the life-saving results their supporters credit them with even in the states where their use is most prevalent. While one could argue that Michigan benefited from seat belts with a 23.65% drop in fatalities, this is canceled by the 31.97% increase in fatalities in Hawaii. The remaining states have produced dismal results despite their very high seatbelt usage rates. The reductions in fatalities are in the very low single digit percentage point range and in some cases, a slight increase in fatalities was noticed.

In conclusion, its fair to state that seat belts are proven to be ineffective at best and at worst, they are actually responsible for an increase in fatalities.

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