Should Seat Belts and Air Bags Be Required?
Insurance companies and lawmakers are working hard to increase the use of
seat belts and to require air bags in new vehicles. Most states already
require seat belts to be worn.
Consider some issues:
When a moving vehicle stops quickly, the passengers move forward toward
the windshield. Seat belts change the forces of motion and prevent the
passenger from moving. During an accident, air bags fill the space between
the passenger and the windshield. More time is required for the passenger
to reach the windshield. When the time of impact is increased, the
acceleration of the passenger is decreased. Thus, the chance of injury is
greatly reduced.
For some people, seat belts are inconvenient or uncomfortable. They feel
seat belt laws interfere with their freedom of choice. These people believe
that if they drive safely, seat belts are unnecessary. Air bags increase the
cost of new vehicles. Automobile manufacturers and buyers are not willing
to absorb the cost.
Air bags can cause injuries or even death when people are too close at time
of deployment. Everyone should sit at least 10 inches away from where the
air bag is stored. Young children who are riding in child safety seats or older
children who are riding in booster seats should ride in the back seat,
furthest away from an air bag. This is why children age 12 and under should
always be properly buckled up in the back seat! Front seat driver and
passenger side air bags only work in frontal crashes, so if your vehicle is hit
on the side or rolls over, the air bag will not protect you - ONLY your seat
belt, when worn properly, can do that!
Think about it: does the risk of personal injury outweigh the
inconvenience of using seat belts and the cost increase of air
bags?
DID YOU KNOW?
 Three out of four crashes happen within 25 miles
of home, at speeds of 45 miles per hour or less.

About 40% of all fatal crashes occur on roads
where the posted speed limit is 30 miles per hour
or less.

Over the past decade 62,000 lives have been
saved and over a million injuries prevented by seat belts.

Motor vehicle crashes cost American taxpayers over 100 billion
dollars every year.

In a 30 mph crash, a 15 pound child can generate an impact force
greater than 300 pounds!
Understanding Car Crashes,
It’s Basic Physics
HOW SEAT BELTS STOP YOU IN A CRASH
 One tenth of a second after impact the motor vehicle comes to a stop,
the unbelted occupant slams into the vehicle's interior. Immediately
after the unbelted occupant stops moving, his internal organs collide
with other organs and skeletal systems.

To allow the occupant to come to a more gradual stop, all the stopping
distance must be used. Holding you in your seat with a safety belt
allows you to stop as the vehicle is stopping, thereby enabling you to
"ride-down" the crash.

During a crash, safety belts distribute the forces of rapid
deceleration over larger and stronger parts of the body such as the
chest, hips and shoulders. Additionally, the safety belt actually
stretches slightly to slow down and to increase its stopping distance.
The head, face and chest are also less likely to strike the steering
wheel, windshield, dashboard or the vehicle's interior frame.

People wearing safety belts are not thrown into another person or
ejected from the vehicle.

Also, the safety belt helps belted drivers maintain control of the
vehicle by keeping them in the driver's seat. This increases the
chance of preventing a second crash
Name: ________________________________
Period 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
In a one page journal, answer the following questions using complete sentences.
1. Using scientific vocabulary, describe how inertia is involved in the use
of seat belts and air bags in vehicles. Please be specific and complete
in your description. Any facts or details that you can add to your
description will be beneficial.
2. Describe the difference between wearing just lap seat belts and
wearing shoulder and lap seat belts.
3. Explain your personal reasons for believing for or against the seat
belt law. (The seat belt law makes it mandatory for everyone to wear
a seat belt in a vehicle.)
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