Seat belts only work when they are worn correctly!

Here are some Belt Basics:

Dos

• Do click it every time you drive or ride, even on short trips.
• Do move closer to the buckle of your seat belt for a better fit and better angle across the shoulder.
• Do wear your lap belt low on your hips, under your stomach.
• Do click it right to prevent serious injury and to avoid a ticket.

Don’ts

• Don’t wear a lap belt alone when a shoulder belt is available.
• Don’t wear the shoulder belt behind you.
• Don’t let the lap belt ride up over the stomach.  Keep it low in the hips.
• Don’t forget it’s the law.  Make sure everyone is buckled up properly!

Saved by the Belt!

Nation data indicates that more than three-quarters of passenger vehicle occupants who were in a serious crash in 2006 and were buckled up survived the crash.

So many Marylanders can share stories about how they were saved by buckling up. Learn about SHA’s employee Dave Wylie’s story in this television public service announcement.

Buckle Up – Day and Night.

• Surveys indicate that seat belt use decreases during night time hours.
• In 2006, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 15,046 passenger vehicle occupants were killed between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Nearly two-thirds (64%) of those killed at night were NOT wearing seat belts — compared to less than half (46%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during daytime hours.  
• Preliminary results in Maryland during 2007 indicate that 52% of MD drivers killed in motor vehicle crashes at night (8 p.m. – 6 a.m.) were not wearing seat belts.  By comparison, only 36% of drivers killed in daytime crashes not wearing seat belts.
• Young people are at greatly increased risk, and are among those least likely to buckle up at night. In fact, the most recent data available shows that roughly 66 percent of Maryland drivers killed not wearing seat belts at night were between the ages of 19-34 years old.
• In 2006, 73 percent of male passenger vehicle occupants between the ages of 18 and 34 who were killed in crashes were NOT wearing seat belts.