Personal Insurance Blog

The seat belt saved my life! Had I not been wearing my seat belt, I would have been ejected. I fell asleep driving, hit the guardrail at 100+ mph, went airborne 30’ and sheared off 5 pine trees (according to the MSP report/reconstruction of my accident).

Your personal confidence in the quality and safety of your driving does not justify foregoing seat belt use.  A seat belt is the most effective method that drivers, and their passengers, can use to protect themselves from the errors and poor decision-making of others, such as:  Driving under the Influence, driving in a tired state (which was my downfall!) or failing to notice traffic lights or stop signs.

Seat belts help to distribute the collision forces across your  pelvis and chest – areas that most effectively withstand collision forces.

Some people feel that not all situations require the use of seat belts.  In particular, they fall in to the trap of thinking that wearing seat belts is only necessary when driving at night, at high speeds (i.e. highway driving) and/or during bad weather.  However, a large number of auto related deaths take place during the dry or sunny weather, within a 25 mile radius of a person’s work or home (I was almost home) and when driving at relatively low speeds such as 40 mph.

There are two different types of seat belt laws. A primary is when law enforcement is allowed to stop you when they see the driver, or passenger, not wearing their seat belt.  In Massachusetts, it is considered a ‘Secondary seat belt law’ – when law enforcement is allowed to issue a citation for a driver or passenger not wearing a seat belt only when they stop a vehicle for another infraction (speeding, etc).

Massachusetts still lags behind the nation in seat belt use, according to the National Transportation Highway Safety Administration.

Please wear your seat belt and ask that all passengers in your vehicle wear one, too.  It could save a life!

Check out our website for more info on auto insurance, and read some more blogs on interesting insurance stories! We love hearing from you, so feel free to contact us with any insurance questions! Most importantly, obey driving laws MA for your own safety!

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