Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Four traditional accident prevention programs have been used for the last 100 years in an attempt to prevent traffic accidents and resulting injuries.
A. Driver licensing. The purpose of driver licensing is only allow competent drivers on the highways. This includes getting the worst drivers off the road. B. Engineering. Engineering of both vehicles and highways to reduce the probability of an accident. C. Enforcement of traffic laws. Compliance with traffic laws is in direct proportion to the perceived level of enforcement. Without enforcement of traffic laws, we would have chaos. D. Education. Driver and traffic safety education attempts to reduce the number of accidents by education of beginning drivers, education of problem drivers as well as public service ads designed toward the general population. i.e. "friends don't let friends drive drunk"
Loss Reduction
Loss reduction is an acceptance that we can not prevent all accidents from occurring. Therefore we must do what we can to reduce losses when accidents do take place specifically loss of life, injuries and property damage.
The Costs
There are about 34,000 deaths, 2,000,000 serious injuries and $200 billion lost in traffic accidents each year in the US. These numbers are on the safest road system in the world!
Highway Engineering
There are numerous roadway designs to reduce losses when a vehicle leaves the roadway. Divided highways, guard rails, bridge design, bridge supports, removal of light poles, signs and trees next to the road, just to name a few. All of these lessen the chance of crashing when leaving the roadway.
Vehicle Design
There are many design features on vehicles over the past 40 years. Some of them are: seat belts for all passengers; shoulder harnesses; windshield design; head restraints; airbags; padded dash boards; door locks and recessed handles; seat anchors; side impact reinforcement; side air bags; adjustable gas and brake pedals; roof crush reinforcement; tempered side windows; fuel tank integrity; seat back locks for two door cars; collapsible steering columns; crush zone; and flame retardant seat materials. The vehicle today is the safest to crash ever built.
Where to look
www.highwaysafety.org This website has vehicle safety ratings if you are interested.
Thrown out?
Your chances of being killed are 25 times greater outside the vehicle. We have spent forty years designing safer vehicles. Stay in them.
Child Restraints
Thirty-five years ago, only 4% of children were properly restrained. With laws requiring child restraint use in all US jurisdictions, the percent of children restrained is 85%+. A major problem with child restraints continues to be the improper use of them. Improper use can compromise safety. Remember, traffic is the most dangerous place these children will ever be.
Click it or Ticket
The belt use rate in NC is 80%+. In the US it is closer to 70%. NC is among the highest use rates of the 50 states. "Click it or ticket" is one reason.
Why all the fuss? I am the only one affected buy not wearing a belt
The people who are injured because they refused to wear a restraint, cost us all in many ways. Here are some of the INDIRECT COSTS of people who are injured because the seat belt was too much trouble.
Insurance
Insurance rates are determined by costs to the companies. The more they pay out, the more cost is passed to future policy holders. Insurance companies do NOT pay claims, policy holders do.
Court Costs
If you have ever been to district or superior court and watched the wheels of justice turn, you would have to agree that the wheels of justice turn slowly if at all. How many trial lawyers have made their fortune in court, over an injury that could have and should have been prevented by a belt? Remember, you pay for all the court personnel, the building etc. All paid for with your taxes.
Social Security
How many think you will ever see a check from Social Security? Sorry. If a person is killed or injured in a crash, (that should not have) how does that affect SS? Instead of paying 15% of his/her paycheck into the system, now they may just get a disability check FROM the system. Who pays that? Right again, YOU DO.
Education Wasted
In NC, the tax payers fund your education to the tune of about $6,500 per year for 13 years. When you come to EC, we (tax payers) fund you again to the tune of about $9,000 per year. That is well over $120,000 per child invested. You kill yourself because a seat belt is too much trouble to put on, and we just wasted our investment.
EMT
How many hours are wasted by emergency personnel treating persons injured when they should not have been. BTW. Ever waited for an ambulance? Why was is delayed? Was is at the at someone elses injury accident? Get the point?
Medical Availability
If you have ever waited to get into a hospital, PCMH is full. They also have to keep beds available for trauma victims. Thats car crashes. Blood supply is another. You will have to wait for elective surgery. Got to keep the blood available too.
Police Services
How many man hours of police personnel are used to deal with accidents and injuries that could/should have been prevented?
Medical Costs
Did you know that 40% of your hospital bill is to pay for the guy next to you that does not have insurance? We must, by law, treat them. Well PCMH is not going to pay for them, you will. A higher percentage of the uninsured, dont wear belts either. Again, we all pay.
Serious Injuries
Each year, in the US, there are 600,000 neck/spinal cord injuries, 179,000 brain injuries and 638,000 facial injuries. Seat belts with air bags can prevent a significant percentage of these. A neck/spinal cord injury takes 200 health care professionals and a $1Million to treat.
The Good
A. They work. The mechanics are not a significant problem. B. They are a passive system. It takes no action on the part of the passengers to allow it to work. (Remember it always works best with the active restraint-seatbelt). C. They work best in the most serious type of accident-head-on and front angular collisions.
Airbags is Vehicles
Airbags have been required in cars, drivers side, since 1993. SUVs and trucks, about 1996. So for over 10 years, all vehicles have front airbags. Millions are deployed each year, with 6 million accidents each year. You are looking at 10s of millions of vehicles with airbags.
How good?
Airbags add about 25% to seat belts. Seat belts reduce death or serious injury by 50-60%. Add 25% to that, we are near 80% of deaths and/or serious injuries can be prevented. Buy a car with airbags, wear your belt!
At no extra charge
Want to know what sells cars today? Safety and Performance. A true oxymoron.
Conclusion
The vehicles we have today are the easiest to drive, safest to crash we have ever had. That is why the total deaths is only 34,000. Slow down. Buckle up. Drive sober.