Drivers and passengers can cut their risk of dying in a crash by half simply by buckling up

May 24−31, 2004, is Buckle Up America! Week. Buckle Up America is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) campaign to promote safety belt and child safety seat use. Drivers and passengers can cut their risk of dying in a crash by half simply by buckling up.

In 2002, safety belts saved the lives of more than 14,000 people over 4 years of age, and child safety seats saved the lives of 376 children ages 4 years and younger (NHTSA 2004). Many more lives could be saved if all motor vehicle occupants were properly restrained.

In support of the campaign, law enforcement agencies across the nation will participate in the Click It or Ticket/Operation ABC (America Buckles Up Children) Mobilization by conducting intensive, high-visibility enforcement of safety belt and child safety seat laws.

Information about Buckle Up America! Week and event planning materials are available from the Buckle Up America! website. To learn more about road traffic safety and World Health Day 2004, “Family Road Safety: Protect the Ones You Love,” visit the CDC Injury Center website and the World Health Organization website.

 
Quick Facts 

• Motor vehicle-related injuries kill more children and young adults ages 1 to 34 than any other single cause in the United States (CDC 2003).
• More than 32,000 occupants of passenger cars and light trucks died in motor vehicle crashes in 2002 in the United States. This includes almost 1,800 children ages 15 years and younger and more than 5,600 people ages 16 to 20 years (NHTSA 2004).
• More than half the people killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2002 were not wearing safety belts (NHTSA 2004).
• Child safety seats reduce the risk of death in passenger cars by about 70% for infants and by about 55% for toddlers ages 1 to 4 (NHTSA 2003).
• For children ages 4 to 7, booster seats reduce injury risk by 59% compared to safety belts alone (Durbin 2003).