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Still, people press on unbuckled and seemingly undaunted by the real life-anddeath dangers of driving on the nation’s highways. The facts are gloomy as pavement, and just as cold, too. More than 40,000 people lost their lives in vehicular accidents in the US last year.
Seat belts are the most important life saver that automobile manufacturers are required by law to bolt in a car. We pay for them, but do we use them?
The government uses them. Before conducting annual “crash” tests to determine the safety and survivability in crashes involving cars sold in the states, test administrators fasten seat belts around dummy occupants. Then, they measure G-forces on dummies upon impact, which generally involves driving the test car into a solid barrier at 30 or 35 mph.
These days, the dummies that are buckled in generally could “survive.” If they weren’t buckled in? According to Consumer Reports: They wouldn’t stand a chance.
At least one US automobile manufacturer now is offering free life insurance for one year to purchasers of their products.
To coBecJ^ a person needs only %> diodurmg a velucular crash ■ while buckled up*~ Believe it or not, that’s a pretty tough proposition, the kind some might call a safe bet.
Race car drivers long have worn seat belts; airplane pilots and truckers lead the buckle-up routine in their vocations.
Do they know something we don’t?
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