Survey Says Rear Passengers are Idiots
Drivers have figured out that wearing their seat belt is critically important. But a new survey suggests that rear seat passengers still don't always click in before they roll out.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety did the survey late last year, and have just released the results. While 91 percent of respondents said that they always wear their seat belt when they are in the front, 28 percent said that they don't always buckle up in the back.
"People who don't use safety belts might think their neglect won't hurt anyone else. That's not the case," said IIHS Senior Researcher Jessica Jermakian. "Without (the belt), bodies can hit hard surfaces or other people at full speed, leading to serious injuries."
Adults aged 35 to 54 was the group least likely to wear their belts, according to the report. Just 66 percent reported always using a belt in the back. Adults over 55 were most likely to buckle up in the back.
When asked why, most said that they believed the rear seat was safer, so it wasn't necessary. People were also less likely to buckle up in the back of a taxi or ride share. Only 57 percent of adults surveyed wore their belts in those vehicles.
Seatbelts are just as essential for rear seat passengers as they are for those in the front. Maybe even more so. If a front seat occupant is unbelted, they might be stopped by the airbag, or they might be thrown from the vehicle. If a rear seat occupant is unbuckled, they are stopped by the head of the person in front of them. Having a 75 kg object hurtling at 100 km/h toward the stationary front seats is not going to end well.
Transport Canada reports that 95 percent of Canadians use their seat belts, although they don't break it down to front versus rear seat. But even though fewer than five percent of occupants are unbelted, nearly 40 percent of fatal injuries were to unbuckled occupants.
So buckle up, no matter what seat you are in. Even if it's a cab or a ride share. It's a cliché, but the life you save could be your own. Or it could be the person sitting in front of you.
