The seat belt: the most effective safety system, even though many users don't use it

When we get into the car, we usually perform a movement that has become a fundamental part before starting to drive. It is the automatic gesture of fastening the seat belt, a safety element within our reach that is necessary to avoid greater injuries. No, it cannot prevent a chance collision, but if one occurs, it can prevent injuries by holding the user in the seat.

Its function is clear. It limits the user’s movement inside the car, and this is important. In the event of a impact, it prevents the occupant from being thrown out and striking the windshield or even going through it. It prevents injuries from hitting other elements inside the car. Of course, it does not prevent an accident from happening, but if one occurs, it can prevent serious harm. Combined with the airbag, it is one of the elements that offers the most safety.

We all know this, but we have just seen the figures from the latest campaign carried out by the DGT, with the collaboration of several town councils. In this awareness campaign on seat belt use, which lasted one week, between 13 and 19 March, as many as 3,038 people were detected not wearing a seat belt, with the consequent risk to their physical integrity.

A worrying figure, which does not include all the violations detected, since the fines issued by the Municipal Police officers of the participating town councils must be added to this. But there is much more in these figures, because 99% of those violations occurred on secondary roads, which are precisely the ones that account for 80% of fatal accidents. But let’s continue with the data.

Of that total, 240 of the people not wearing a seat belt were under 12 years old, and of these, 64 were travelling in the front passenger seat. This is information that may concern us, because not only is the driver’s life being gambled with, but children are also placed at serious risk, who, let us remember, must always travel with a restraint system suited to their height and weight.

The use of the seat belt is mandatory in all the seats of the car, and it must be used for a very important reason: in the event of an impact, the seat belt holds the user in the seat, preventing them from being thrown through the windshield and ending up several meters in front of the car, on the asphalt.

There are many myths about seat belt use, and it is possible we have heard some of them from an acquaintance. One of the most widespread is that seat belts can cause a serious chest injury in a collision. What is not taken into account is that if a crash were severe enough to cause that, the impact would be against the steering wheel, which would be far worse.

The urban legend of the driver trapped by the seat belt while the car burns, something we have seen in countless films and television series. In reality, all of this is just excuses, and one very important thing must be remembered: the seat belt saves lives, and not only that. Furthermore, not wearing it can lead to a serious fine of up to 200 euros and the loss of three points from the driving licence, if the driver is the one not wearing it. Something to keep in mind, if one does not want to find out that it could save their life in an accident.