Safety Belt Facts

• Many Americans understand the lifesaving value of the seat belt – the national use rate was at 91.9% in 2023.
• In 2022, more than 25,000 occupants were killed in passenger vehicle collisions. About 50% of those killed were not buckled.
• In 2021 alone, seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been wearing seat belts.
• Research has found that proper use of lap/shoulder belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent (for occupants of light trucks, 60 and 65 percent respectively).
• To get the most benefit out of your safety belt, you should wear it low over the pelvis with the bottom edge touching the tops of the thighs. The shoulder belt should be worn over the shoulder and across the chest, not under the arm and over the abdomen. Make certain that the shoulder belt is not worn so loosely that it slides off the shoulder. Pregnant women should wear the lap belt below the abdomen and the shoulder belt above the belly.
• Even if your car has airbags, always wear your safety belt. Airbags are supplemental restraint systems designed to work with safety belts — not in place of them. Airbags help protect adults in a frontal crash, but they do not provide protection on side and rear impact crashes or in rollovers.
• Fear of entrapment during vehicle fire or submersion is not a valid reason for not wearing seat belts. Only one-half of one percent of all crashes ends in fire or submersion. Most crash fatalities result from the force of impact or from being thrown from the vehicle, not from becoming trapped inside the vehicle.
• Ejected occupants are four times as likely to be killed as those who remain inside the vehicle.
• Safety belts should be worn at all times, even on short trips close to home. Three out of four fatal crashes occur within 25 miles of the crash victim's home. Most crashes causing death or injury occur at speeds below 40 miles per hour.

Child Safety Seat Facts

• Car crashes are a leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 13.
• In 2024, nine children under the age of six were occupants of a vehicle involved in a traffic collision in South Carolina. Only 5 of the 9 children were in a child safety seat.
• In 2017, 325 children under the age of 5 were saved by car seats.