Tennesseans Are Doing Better When It Comes To Seat Belts

Tennesseans have increased their seat belt usage, but unrestrained crashes still happen.

Highway Patrol District Captain Robert (R.C.) Christian said 30% of fatalities in Cookeville last year were from not using a seat belt.

“When I get a fatality report and I see that a seat belt would have made a difference in somebody living or dying, that’s something that’s very real to us and something that, you know, we try to address and try to improve those numbers,” Christian said.

According to the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, Putnam County had 53 crashes with 26 individuals unrestrained last year. 2018 saw 72 crashes with 44 unrestrained individuals.

Tennessee law says anyone in the front seat needs their seat belt on. Christian added even though it’s legal to sit in the back without a seat belt, he doesn’t advise it.

“Seat belts make a difference,” Christian said. “Automatically just by putting it on, you know, you’ve increased your chances by 50 percent of not getting hurt period in a crash. That even goes up even higher if it’s a fatality crash. But the key to it is they save lives, we see it.”

In a head on crash, the force you feel is the speed the vehicle goes times the weight of the individual. Christian said placing the safety device to”belt to bone” will keep your body in place.

“Those seat belts keep those vital organs and things in place. For instance, if you break a leg or an arm in a crash, you can generally get that fixed. But if you get a skull fracture or something like that, you may not get a second chance with that,” Christian said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the usage rate rose from 90.9 percent in 2018 to 91.75 percent last year.