How Common are Seat Belt Fatalities in Car Crashes?

A Beaumont man was killed in Austin during the early morning. Early reports indicated that he flipped his truck while trying to get back on the road after he had veered off. The man flew out of his truck, as he was not wearing a seat belt.

How Often Do Seat Belt Deaths Occur in Auto Accidents?

Fortunately, they do not occur as often as they used to. In 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) found that 90.3 percent of Texas drivers used seat belts. This number is an all-time high.

Texas seat belt usage is 6 percentage points higher than ten years ago, and it dwarfs the only 14 percent of US drivers that buckled up when the NHTSA statistics were first gathered for seat belt usage for the United States in 1983. Texas seat belt usage surpasses the 87 percent national average.

Despite this, seat belts are a major cause of fatalities in auto accidents. An Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) study in 2012 found that 944 front seat passengers were killed in Texas, which is the most unbuckled passenger fatalities in the entire country. In fact, it is almost 1/10^th of all unbuckled fatalities in the US, according to the study.

If you consider the National Safety Council’s (NSC) statistic that seat belts reduce car fatalities by 45 percent, then the 944 fatalities in 2012 could have been about 425 fatalities. Hypothetically, 519 lives could have been saved.

Need a Car Crash Attorney in Austin?

If you have been injured or lost someone in a car crash, then call our Austin auto accident attorneys today. We have the experience and training to give you a strong case for compensation for your losses and your injuries.

[Did You Know?: New Hampshire is the only state that does not have a mandatory seat belt law for adults.]

The Law Offices of Aaron Allison – Austin Personal Injury Attorney