Seat Belts

Nine out of ten Maryland front-seat drivers and passengers wear their seat belt, but our goal is 100 percent.  Each year, thousands of unbelted drivers and passengers are seriously injured or killed on our roads. The vast majority of those injuries or deaths could have been avoided if those people had been properly buckled at the time of their crash. It takes three seconds to buckle up but it can make a lifetime of difference.

Seat Belts Save Lives

Common excuses such as “it takes too long,” “it rubs my neck,” and “I’m only driving a short distance” are invalid excuses for not buckling up. It takes three seconds to buckle up and the slight irritation you might feel may end up saving your life if you are in a crash.  

Unrestrained occupants of vehicles become deadly projectiles in a crash, injuring others as they are thrown around inside the vehicle—and, in many cases, ejected through a window. Occupants ejected from vehicles are 90 times more likely to be killed in the event of a crash. Unbelted passengers in the back seat are especially dangerous as their bodies can become a projectile, potentially hurting the driver and other passengers as well as themselves.  

Consider this too – if a driver is unbuckled, 68 percent of the time the children in that vehicle will not be buckled either. Adults who don’t buckle up are sending a deadly message to children, as well as other passengers, that it’s okay not to use seat belts.  Learn more about Child Passenger Safety.

Be the BUCKLED UP Driver. Wear your seat belt every time you get in a vehicle, whether it is a personal vehicle or rideshare, and make sure all passengers are belted.

Unbuckled? What’s Holding you Back?

In an effort to demonstrate the differences in being buckled vs. unbuckled in a rollover crash, MHSO has the Rollover Simulator available for community events.

To request this educational resource for a community event, please complete this form.