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Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Virginia seat belt usage climbs to second-highest rate on record
Posted by:
Loudoun News
()
Date: September 16, 2011 06:51AM
Virginia seat belt usage climbs to second-highest rate on record
Thursday, Sep. 15 by Matt Vecchio
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/virginia_seat_belt_usage_climbs_to_second-highest_rate_ever123/
Virginians are buckling up – even more than last year.
Virginia recorded the second-highest ever use rate this year at 81.8 percent.
This number is up slightly from 2010, when the rate was 80.5 percent, but still hasn’t matched 2009 – the highest recorded rate, 82.3 percent.
In 2008, 80.2 percent were wearing seat belts, in 2007, 79.9 percent were, in 2006, 78.6 percent were and 80.4 percent utilized safety belts in 2005.
These rates are based on surveys conducted by Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
“Seat belts are your best defense during a crash,” said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, who is Gov. Bob McDonnell’s highway safety representative. “A crash is always a surprise, so you don’t have to time to prepare or to put on your safety belt at that point. Play it safe and always buckle up, every time.”
Of the 448 traffic fatalities in Virginia in 2011, as of Sept. 8, 194 were not wearing a seat belt.
Traffic deaths are about the same as last year; as of Sept. 6, there were 504 total roads deaths in 2011, compared to 505 for the same period in 2010.
Still, there were only 740 traffic fatalities in Virginia last year, the lowest one-year number since statistics started being recorded in 1966.
According to the state police, it is estimated motorists wearing a seat belt are 40 percent less likely to be fatally injured during a crash. To put this into perspective, statistics show motorists are five times more likely to be killed and three times more likely to sustain serious injuries when not wearing a belt.
Battle of the belt
While a common argument against seat belt usage is that people worry it might restrict their movements during an accident, facts show that wearing a seat belt simply raises your chances for surviving a crash.
Medical bills from traffic crashes are twice as costly for occupants who are not belted, according to state police.
An insured driver who routinely wears a seat belt is forced to pay higher premiums each year to cover medical costs for those who crash and don’t have a seat belt on.
According to the state police, children are likely to be buckled when the driver is buckled in. Also, airbags aren’t enough by themselves. When used with seat belts, airbags further reduce the risk of death or injury, but they are designed to be used in accordance with seat belts.
State police warn that as the commonwealth invests close to $4 billion into the transportation network in coming years, motorists will regularly come across road construction. As Virginia does its part to keep the highway safe, the DMV urges drivers to do theirs as well: Buckle up, slow down and be alert.
Thursday, Sep. 15 by Matt Vecchio
http://www.loudountimes.com/index.php/news/article/virginia_seat_belt_usage_climbs_to_second-highest_rate_ever123/
Virginians are buckling up – even more than last year.
Virginia recorded the second-highest ever use rate this year at 81.8 percent.
This number is up slightly from 2010, when the rate was 80.5 percent, but still hasn’t matched 2009 – the highest recorded rate, 82.3 percent.
In 2008, 80.2 percent were wearing seat belts, in 2007, 79.9 percent were, in 2006, 78.6 percent were and 80.4 percent utilized safety belts in 2005.
These rates are based on surveys conducted by Old Dominion University in Norfolk.
“Seat belts are your best defense during a crash,” said Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Richard D. Holcomb, who is Gov. Bob McDonnell’s highway safety representative. “A crash is always a surprise, so you don’t have to time to prepare or to put on your safety belt at that point. Play it safe and always buckle up, every time.”
Of the 448 traffic fatalities in Virginia in 2011, as of Sept. 8, 194 were not wearing a seat belt.
Traffic deaths are about the same as last year; as of Sept. 6, there were 504 total roads deaths in 2011, compared to 505 for the same period in 2010.
Still, there were only 740 traffic fatalities in Virginia last year, the lowest one-year number since statistics started being recorded in 1966.
According to the state police, it is estimated motorists wearing a seat belt are 40 percent less likely to be fatally injured during a crash. To put this into perspective, statistics show motorists are five times more likely to be killed and three times more likely to sustain serious injuries when not wearing a belt.
Battle of the belt
While a common argument against seat belt usage is that people worry it might restrict their movements during an accident, facts show that wearing a seat belt simply raises your chances for surviving a crash.
Medical bills from traffic crashes are twice as costly for occupants who are not belted, according to state police.
An insured driver who routinely wears a seat belt is forced to pay higher premiums each year to cover medical costs for those who crash and don’t have a seat belt on.
According to the state police, children are likely to be buckled when the driver is buckled in. Also, airbags aren’t enough by themselves. When used with seat belts, airbags further reduce the risk of death or injury, but they are designed to be used in accordance with seat belts.
State police warn that as the commonwealth invests close to $4 billion into the transportation network in coming years, motorists will regularly come across road construction. As Virginia does its part to keep the highway safe, the DMV urges drivers to do theirs as well: Buckle up, slow down and be alert.
Re: Virginia seat belt usage climbs to second-highest rate on record
Posted by:
Concerned Parents
()
Date: September 30, 2011 06:47AM
This doesn't suprise me one bit!