Fastening the seat belts, added to the airbag, is more than 80% of getting out of a frontal impact alive, while the chances are reduced by 10% if one of these devices is missing.
This weekend, Road Safety is launching a campaign to encourage motorists to put on their seat belts. A video full of emotion that should sensitize teens and their parents.
One can wonder why 40 years after the obligation (1972 at the front, 1990 at the rear), we are still obliged to campaign for this elementary preventive act? Quite simply because there were in 2016, 354 people who died because they were badly or not attached. That is 1 death in 5 fatal road accidents.
We know that the death rate of people without belt is two to three times higher than that of people belted. This is why wearing a seat belt is compulsory for all front and rear passengers. It is also at the rear that the obligation is the least respected, undoubtedly because it is easier to hide at roadside checks … However, this mainly concerns children and it should be noted that a frontal impact at base speed, for example at 50 kilometers per hour, which represents the majority of accidents in the city and in transporting children on the way to school, is incredibly brutal. This is what this campaign wants to show.
The airbag is associated with the protection
The protection of the belt should not forget that of the airbag: At the wheel, the ball is life. Because it is to 1,700 that rises the number of people saved each year in the United States by the airbag, the airbag of safety. Its operating principle is simple: a bag fills up very quickly with gas during an impact, preventing the motorist’s head from violently hitting a hard part of the vehicle. This simplicity hides treasures of technology. First of all, the speed of deployment: in 60 milliseconds, i.e. at a speed ranging from 160 to 320 km / hour, a bag of 90 to 70 liters for the driver, of 90 to 150 liters for the passenger, is deployed thanks to to a pyrotechnic system. Obviously, the various gases of its composition, essentially nitrogen, are not toxic. Then it deflates very quickly, allowing casualties to free themselves.
To optimize the airbag
A few rules should be observed: be at least 25 cm from the steering wheel; have your hands placed at 9 and 3 p.m., contrary to the habits of the code which advises 10 and 2 p.m. not having a cigarette in your mouth; disconnect the passenger airbag if you are transporting a baby in a rearward facing car seat; Avoid objects for the passenger which could injure when the airbag is triggered, such as books or a laptop.
We sum up the safety jackpot: buckle up your seat belts, you then have a more than 80% probability of getting out of a frontal impact alive, while your chances decrease by 10% if you only have one of them. these devices.
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