When travelling at slow speeds in your car the wearing of a seatbelt has little effect of your body when you brake. So why is it important to wear your seat belt?
A driver or passenger travelling in a car is moving at the same speed as the car. If the car suddenly stops, the body of the rider inside will keep moving forward at the same speed. This demonstrates inertia. The tendency of a moving object to keep moving, or of a stationary object to remain at rest. Basically Newtons first law; that a body stationary or moving with constant velocity will want to continue to do so, unless acted on by a force.
Lets understand what is happening here. First drive along in your car at 60 km/h on a backstreet with no traffic, then brake gently and slowly. You will notice that the seat belt doesn’t really do much to hold your body. Now do the same again but this time break as quickly and sharply as you can. Your body will be thrown forwards with great force, and your seatbelt will be literally holding you in place.
Now your body was what is commonly referred to as being "thrown forwards", however this is not the case. Your body was actually not slowing down much at all and your velocity relative to the car initially was much greater. The car began to slow down due to breaking and your body in accordance with Newtons First law wanted to continue to move at the original constant velocity. Now if your seat belt was not there to provide an opposing force, to your momentum and inertia, by holding you from going forwards, you very likely would have been thrown into the dash or steering wheel.
Lets look at this mathematically. m= your mass in kilograms for this purposes 70kg
V= final velocity 0 m/s
U= initial velocity 60 km/h or 16.6 m/s straight line
S= distance taken to stop 42 m t= 3.8 a= -4.368 m/s/s
Now your momentum at 60km/h is P=MU
So P= 70kg*16.6m/s
P=1162 Kg m/s
Impulse I=MU/t
I=70*16.6/3.8
I=305N
So your body will weigh about 610kg when you are breaking hard, a force it is difficult for any person to withstand.
Now in the context of a head on accident at around 60km/hr the force exerted on your body is greatly increased. In the event of such an accident it will take the car approximately 0.4 seconds to stop.
States across the nation have seat belt laws in place that make it a requirement for drivers and passengers in vehicles that are being operated on public streets to wear some sort of safety belt. In 1998, 41,471 people were killed in 6,334,000 reported motor vehicle accidents in the United States. Seat belts are estimated to save 9,500 lives each year, and statistics show a higher degree of seat-belt use in states that aggressively enforce seat belt laws. The laws, as well as the punishments available for violation of the laws vary by state. In most states, however, it is considered a misdemeanor and punishable by a small fine. The properness of an arrest for such violations is a good question and has been addressed by various courts including the Supreme Court.
In the late 1920’s, school buses and larger industrial vehicles became a popular source of transportation that started from Ford dealership owner, A.L. Luce. Luce had plans to extend the school bus frame (from a Model T) to accompany more students per one bus. As school buses and city buses became more common throughout America’s cities for daily transportation, safety regulations and precautions were put in place. Safety features, including flashing caution lights, visors outside of the vehicle, and motorized stop signs and stop arms were all installed within the next 80 years to make the journey to and from school safer. Although many of these precautions were taken, many citizens believe that not enough action was taken to promote safety on school buses. Because a variety of school bus companies do not have a stance on whether seatbelts should be installed or not, the safety concerns mainly impact parents and school leaders. A good solution for many of those concerned would be the installation of seatbelts on every school bus within the United States, but the reality of seatbelts being on buses is quite the opposite of what people believe. Seatbelts are not the justification to these safety issues concerning school corporations and parents nationwide, as the seatbelts are a costly and dangerous factor.
Despite the many efforts that automobile industries have created, research has shown that many individuals disable these reinforcements although "seat belt use is the most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes" (http://www.cdc.gov/). Geller et al...
Even though there are some statistics that may show a lower rate of injury or death if you wear a seat belt when in an automobile accident, I do not feel that the government has the right to make wearing a seat belt mandatory for adults because by making seat belts mandatory it takes away from our right to freedom of choice, and wearing a seat belt does not eliminate the risk of injury or death as people have been injured and/or killed due to wearing a seat belt Current seat belt law originated from federal legislation in the 1960s that made it mandatory for all automobile manufacturers to include seat belts in their vehicles as a standard feature. Originally, the purpose of a seat belt was not to protect the occupants in the case of a crash, but rather to physically keep them in the vehicle, as driving was bumpy business. However, in today’s times, mandatory use of a seat belt falls under various states purview. Each state implements its own laws regarding enforcement of seat belt use.
“After being examined at the ER, we continued on to the wedding reception. Where, less than 3 hour after this accident, Rachel, Jeff, Sarah, and Haley were able to dance and have a great time! If they had not been wearing their seat belts, they could have been dead. So Please Buckle Up your Seat Belts every time you get in the car!” (www.geocities.com/gargn6/seatbelts.html?200522).
drivers travelling at high speeds on roads (Hartman). To conserve fuel and save lives, the
Seat belts that stay in rest stay in rest. Seat belts that are in motion stay in motion. For example, when a car is in motion the seat belt is in motion. When the car is at rest the seat belts stay at rest. An example for motion is when a driver is driving their car the seat belt is in motion. It is trying to put pressure on the passenger so they don’t get hurt. An example when a seat belt is at rest when the car is not moving at all. There is no pressure acting on the driver. Another example for motion is when someone hits the brakes. Pressure is developing on the body with the seat belts. That is why sometimes seat belts lock and the driver can’t go forward a lot. It is trying to pull back the passenger so it doesn’t get hurt by any objects in front of it. In order to create a seat belt I decided to use straws and tape. It is strong enough to hold back the passenger from hitting anything. The main reason for a seat belt in this project is to put pressure on the
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The Benefits and Risks of Airbags In 1966, President Johnson signed the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. This act requires the government to come up with new safety standards for motor vehicles. Four years or so later, in the 1970s, General Motors and Ford placed new airbags in small fleet cars (Moore). The concept of this new device was to totally inflate, stopping the rapid forward motion of a person not wearing a seat belt before they hit the dashboard or are thrown from a car during a crash.
We have all heard the excuses before, "It's uncomfortable, I'm only going around the corner", I'd rather be thrown out of a car than be stuck in a seatbelt," and my favorite, "I'm a good driver I don't need to wear one." Well you may be a good driver but there are situations beyond your control such as bad weather, road conditions and not to mention other drivers that can affect your safety. Seat belts can mean the difference between life and death in an auto accident. Wearing a seat belt every time you enter a vehicle is not only the smart thing to do it is the right thing because it saves lives, it's the law and it will save you money.
Seatbelts have been around since the 1950s and have proven to save lives over the years. The teenage stigma is that they do not need to wear one because they will be fine. After thousands of accidents where the occupants did not wear their seatbelt, the Supreme Court decided to pass some laws. “In 1972, the agency requires dull passive restraints for front seat occupants” (Supreme Court). The agency that the Supreme Court is referring to is the Department of Transportation. This law is a staple in automobile safety and sets a level of precedents for future laws. After this law was passed, the amount of fatalities from traffic incident relating to seat belts usage had dropped. The Supreme Court did not stop there, they continued to add more laws. “...new motor vehicles produced after September 1982 will be equipped with passive restraints to protect the safety of the occupants of the vehicle in the event of a collision” (Supreme Court). Now all new motor vehicles must have a form of passive restraint added to their vehicles before they can sell them to the public. The government hoped to protect more lives of young drivers who did not insist on wearing seat belts by making them mandatory and being enforced by police officers. Since 1972, hundreds of thousands of teenage lives have been saved with this simple safety
Seatbelt is a very important component when we all drive a car or other vehicle. The main purpose of seat belts is to provide greater safety to the driver when driving car but at the moment, people do not care about the importance of wearing seatbelt.
If you are a person who does not always wear your seat belt all the times, or think that you are a good driver and nothing is going to happen to you, I strongly urge that you most definitely need to start getting in the habit of doing so starting now it only takes 2 seconds. Your safety should always be a very important priority. Therefore, wearing a seat belt will lessen your chance of death and serious injuries if you are ever involved in a minor or serious car accident. Finding a reason to not wear your seat belt when you are in a vehicle or simply just not bothering to wear one is breaking the law, and most importantly putting your life in danger. Extremely too many people are losing their lives in devastating car accidents from not buckling up and every year the rate is still rising. The next time you are in a car and don’t have on your seat belt think about all the repercussions that people who didn’t have on a seat belt during a car accident and probably thought, “Nothing is going to happen to me” and ended up no longer able to remember things due to their head being slammed into the windshield in and their leg being broken. Think about all of the millions of people who have lost their lives. No one is safe from these dangers and you can be a victim too if you don’t buckle up. Just one wise decision can save your
Preventing skidding during braking increases the drivers control of the car and greatly reduces the chance of a crash.
We have all heard the excuses before, “do I have to wear it? It isn’t like it’s going to protect me,” “it’s uncomfortable, I’m only going around the corner,” or “I’d rather be thrown out of the vehicle than to be stuck in a seat belt.” No matter how good of a driver you are, or you think you might be, there are always situations that are beyond your control. Such as, bad weather, drunk drivers, and road conditions. Sometimes, seat belts can be a life or death in an automobile accident. Not only is wearing your seat belt every time you get in a vehicle, but it is required by law in 49 states, with the exception of New Hampshire. Although seat belts are known to lock up and wrinkle your clothes, I believe that wearing your seat belt is beneficial because every fourteen seconds someone is injured in a traffic crash. Seat belts are not only known for holding you in place during a collision, but more importantly the are known to save the lives of the occupants in the vehicle.