Research Paper Sample on Seatbelts

Vehicle carnage dominates the public discourse as the key cause of injury and death across the globe. According to the report released by the Centre for Disease and Prevention, seatbelt usage in the United States has saved nearly 255,000 lives between 1975 and 2008 (CDC). Therefore, despite the fact that not all states in the US have a primary seatbelt law, the CDC report shows the critical impact of seatbelts in saving people's lives. Therefore, buckling up is one of the safest decisions that drivers and passengers can make while commuting; in public or private vehicles. Thus, despite the existence of other safety mechanisms, seatbelts have proven to be the most effective safety measures for motor vehicle users (Miriam Santschi). They have been able to reduce incidences of road accidents by nearly half across the world.

Seatbelts are designed to ensure that people remain in their seats when a crash incident occurs; thus reducing or preventing injuries. They act through reducing, by a bigger margin, the chance of a passenger being ejected from the vehicle as well as reducing contacts between an occupant and a vehicle's interior. Previous crash data shows that 22 passengers lost their lives in New Zealand's capital between December and January 2015 for failing to wear restraints (seatbelts). According to The United States National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the use of seatbelts by passengers saved nearly 13,941 people in the country (Olumuyiwa Joshua Ogundele). The information added that despite the annual usage standing at 90.1%, a significant population, estimated at 27.5 million people fail to wear their seatbelts. Therefore, the agency called upon the public to understand the grave consequences of failing to buckle up their seatbelts and learn the process of wearing them appropriately to save more lives on roads by reducing incidences of injury and death in cases of motor vehicle accidents.

However, critics opine that much as empirical studies suggest that seatbelts are beneficial to road users, they also cause injuries that might as well be fatal to human health. They suggest that although there is available evidence about effectiveness of seatbelts, these tools may cause harm and injury to children and pregnant women (Miriam Santschi). Nonetheless, there is no reliable study that provides accurate estimate of the severity of seatbelt-related injuries and downplay their significance. Contrastingly, the FARS provides useful data about the effectiveness of seatbelts in the prevention of injury in critical accident conditions (Olumuyiwa Joshua Ogundele). Therefore, the available evidence majorly links the use of restraints to the prevention of fatalities, even in severe accidents. Therefore, even if seatbelts also cause injury to children and pregnant women, the consequence has a lesser magnitude compared to the benefits.

Professionals suggest that when the unrestrained vehicle veers off and collide with another, the occupants without seatbelts will collide with the interior of the vehicle they are traveling in. A driver in such a situation may hit their heads on the windscreen and their chests on the steering wheels. In cases of severe crash, the internal organs of the vehicle occupants will collide with their chest wall, thus resulting in fatal injuries. The magnitude and direction of impact constitute critical considerations in the determination of the outcome of the crash (CDC). The first impact will be the deceleration of the motor car after colliding with another or an object. In the aftermath, the lower extremities of the occupants will receive the energy impact thus may result in injuries such as fractures in the femur, dislocation of the ankle or the knee in the lower limbs. However, seatbelts have the potential to prevent these injuries and thus reduce the impact of the accident.

Empirical evidence indicates a strong negative correlation between seatbelt usage and vehicle accident related injury and deaths. This can be illustrated using various factors. Statistical evidence indicated that vehicle occupants who fail to buckle up are highly likely to get ejected from the vehicle in the case of a crash (CDC). Such a scenario increases chances of unbelted occupants sustaining injuries or even death because of an accident occurrence. Besides, evidence has also been able to determine that unbelted occupants have a higher likelihood of becoming projectile objects when accidents occur; thus increasing the severity of the risk of injury since the unbelted occupants are a fixed target in such a case.

On the other hand, it is evident that seatbelts have reduced road accident injuries and deaths across the globe. Nonetheless, their use remains limited to only a few number of people, with some empirical studies suggesting that gender affects seatbelt usage. However, glaring evidence shows that the number of men wearing seatbelts was lower compared to females, age notwithstanding (CDC). This information emanated from the fact that in most of the accident occurrences, the number of men ejected from the accident vehicles was higher compared to females. Nonetheless, even among men, the number of teenagers using a seatbelt is usually lower compared to the adult population.

The fact that seatbelts are effective tools in ensuring safety during accidents has been affirmed by different researchers. Empirical studies show that these devices can reduce motor vehicle fatalities by half while minimizing the possibility of occupants sustaining a serious injury by 55%. The affordability, feasibility and proven ability of seatbelts to reduce accidents, therefore, call for the need to recommend them to be used as an intervention measure not only in western countries but across the world to reduce the incidence of road carnage  (Olumuyiwa Joshua Ogndele). However, to maximise the benefits of these devices in vehicles, it would be critical for governments of different countries to institutionalize laws and regulations that make it mandatory for people to wear seatbelts while using motor vehicles. Other strategies that would be critical for enhancing the usability and associated benefits include public education and awareness on the usage of seatbelts and associated benefits, mandatory seatbelt laws as well as legislation for all vehicles to have functional seatbelts.

It is an affirmed fact therefore that seatbelts act as the defense line for the prevention of road accident associated injuries and deaths. These tools have the potential to accident injury through preventing a motor vehicle occupant from colliding with interior parts. Seatbelts are also critical in preventing ejection from the vehicle in an accident incident (Miriam Santschi). Nonetheless, despite the recognized importance of seatbelts in reducing accidents, most people have not embraced them adequately, especially across the public transport sector in developing nations (Olumuyiwa Joshua Ogundele). Moreover, it is possible to prevent seatbelt-related injuries through appropriate application of seatbelts. In this regard, whenever there is a seatbelt sign, it must act as a warning as well as a reminder to buckle up. Further, there are a number of intervention measures that can be undertaken to ensure seatbelt compliance. Some of the strategies are low cost but with significant implication to road safety.

Works Cited

CDC. Adult Seat Belt Use. January 2011. <https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/seatbeltuse/index.html>. Vital Signs: Nonfatal, Motor Vehicle--Occupant Injuries (2009) and Seat Belt Use (2008) Among Adults --- United States. 7 January 2011. <https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5951a3.htm>.

Laurie F. Beck, MPH, et al. Rural and Urban Differences in Passenger-VehicleOccupant Deaths and Seat Belt Use Among Adults United States. 2014. <https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/ss/ss6617a1.htm?s_cid=ss6617a1_w>.

Miriam Santschi, Vincent Echave, Sophie Laflamme, Nathalie McFadden, and Claude Cyr. Seat-belt injuries in children involved in motor vehicle crashes. 2005. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3211905/>.

Olumuyiwa Joshua Ogundele, Adeleke O. fesanya, Sylvester A. Adeyanju, and Samuel O. Ogunlade. The impact of seat-belts in limiting the severity of injuries in patients presenting to a university hospital in the developing world. 2013. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3644739/>.