Wearing a Seat Belt is the Most Effective Thing Michigan Drivers Can Do

How important is it to wear your seat belt while traveling? Extremely important! It's a fact that seat belts save lives every year in Michigan.

Let's take a moment and go back to 2017, just to see how many lives were saved that year just by wearing a seat belt, courtesy of radioresultsnetwork.com:

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved 14,955 lives nationwide in 2017. Seat belts are the single most effective way to stay alive in a crash. According to the NHTSA, buckling up in the front seat can reduce the risk of serious injury or death in a crash by 45 percent.

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And no matter who ever rides in my vehicle, they always wear their seat belt. I read a report the other day where 228 people were killed in Michigan traffic crashes in 2020, None of them were wearing a seat belt.

There is no guarantees that seat belts save all lives, but they do cut down on injuries and save lives on our Michigan roads and highways.

Speaking of seat belts, General Motors has recalled well over 400,000 SUVs due to seat belt issues.

According to mlive.com:

The recall impacts the 2021 and 2022 models of the Chevrolet Suburbans and Tahoes, Cadillac Escalades and GMC Yukons, according to the Associated Press.

I remember being pulled over a long time ago because I wasn't wearing my seat belt. I was driving down Grand River in Okemos when a police officer pulled me over and gave me a ticket.

And from that day forward, I buckle up every time I'm behind the wheel of a car, or when I'm a passenger in the front or the rear seat.

Michigan law requires everyone to buckle up. This from radioresultsnetwork.com:

Michigan law requires drivers, front-seat passengers, and passengers 15 and younger in any seating position to be buckled up. The fine and associated costs for not wearing a seat belt is $65.  Children must be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4’9″ tall, and children under 4 years old must be in the back seat..