Buckle Up Our first category is “Buckle Up”. These questions will all have to do with wearing seat belts. Your decision to wear a seatbelt could be the difference between life and death. Safety belts when used properly reduce the number of serious traffic injuries by 50% and fatalities by 60-70%. Safety belts improve your chances of traveling safely in many ways. They can: Stop the "human collision" Many injuries or deaths occur when a person inside the car collides with: the steering wheel, the dashboard, windshield and frame, a door, a window, the roof, or other passengers. A safety belt stops this human collision by holding you in place. An internal collision occurs when the organs and bone structure of your body is altered due to the crash. The internal collision affects the brain, bony parts of the skull, and all internal organs. Wearing a seat belt can protect your body in the event of a crash. Keep you inside the car You are 25 times more likely to be killed or injured if you're thrown from the car. If you are thrown "free" you may be thrown into: the path of your own car if it rolls over traffic, a tree, guardrail, telephone pole or other object. Spread out the force of a collision A safety belt stops you from moving after the car has stopped so the force of the collision is lessened. A safety belt spreads the force of the collision over the strongest parts of your body-your hips and shoulders. Keep you conscious Since safety belts prevent the "human collision," there's a better chance you'll remain conscious. If you remain conscious, you can: release your belt in an instant, take action to help yourself and others. Help keep you in control In an emergency, safety belts keep you behind the wheel and ready to react if necessary. Being in control can help you keep minor crashes or avoid them altogether. Prevent minor injuries Bumps, bruises, cuts, sprains, facial injuries. Safety belts often prevent these injuries-and the pain, lost income, medical bills and higher insurance rates that go along with them.  All vehicle occupants should be properly buckled up for every trip.

Buckle Up: Question 1 Wearing a seatbelt increases your chances of surviving a crash by as much as…? 10% 25% 50% 75% Read the 1st question.

Buckle Up Wearing a seatbelt increases your chances of surviving a crash by as much as… D. 75% Demonstrate proper fit of seat belts. A shoulder harness is worn across the shoulder and chest with minimal, if any slack. The shoulder harness should not be worn under the arm or behind the back. Wearing the harness the wrong way could cause serious internal injuries in a crash. The lap belt should be adjusted so that it is snug and lies low across your hips after fastening. If you have an automatic shoulder belt, be sure to buckle your lap belt as well. Otherwise, in a collision you could slide out of the belt and be hurt or killed. You should be seated upright with your back against the seat and feet on the floor. Improper seating positions, such as slouching or resting one’s feet on the dashboard can result in reduced effectiveness of the vehicle’s restraint system and possibly result in injury. Seat belts should be worn even if the vehicle is equipped with air bags. While air bags are good protection against hitting the steering wheel, dashboard or windshield, they do not protect you if you are hit from the side or rear or if the vehicle rolls over. In addition, an air bag will not keep you behind the wheel in these situations. The law requires that all children under the age of 12 must be secured in the rear seat and wear appropriate seat restraints while the vehicle is in motion.

What age group has the lowest rate of seat belt use? Buckle Up: Question 2 What age group has the lowest rate of seat belt use? 16-20 21-40 41-65 65 and older Read the 2nd question.

Buckle Up The age group with the lowest rate of seat belt use is… A. 16-20 You’re the generation that came home from hospital in car seats, you’ve ridden in seat belts your whole life and when you start to drive you take off your seat belts. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration… Teens buckle up far less frequently than adults do. Despite efforts aimed at increasing belt use among teens, observed seat belt use among teens and young adults (16 to 24 years old) stood at 80 percent in 2008 – the lowest of any age group. In fact, in 2009 the majority (56%) of young people 16 to 20 years old involved in fatal crashes were unbuckled.

Buckle Up: Question 3 True or False? CT’s seatbelt law requires all rear-seat passengers between 4 years old and 16 years old to wear a seat belt. Read the 3rd question.

Buckle Up True CT’s seat belt law requires all motor vehicle passengers ages 4-16 to buckle up in the back seat. The reason for this is the back seat bullets. What is a back seat bullet? In the event of a crash, unbelted back seat passengers become bullets, putting not only themselves, but everyone in the vehicle at risk. That's because unbelted back seat passengers continue to move at the same rate of speed as the vehicle they are riding in until they hit something -- the seat back, the dashboard, the windshield, the driver or another passenger. It's also not uncommon for unbelted passengers to be thrown from a vehicle and either crushed by that vehicle or another on the road.

Buckle Up: Question 4 True or False? The driver is responsible for proper seatbelt use by all occupants who are under the age of 16. Read the 4th question.

Buckle Up True The driver is responsible for proper seatbelt use by all occupants who are under the age of 16. Drivers 16- and 17-years old and each of their passengers are required to wear a seat belt. If either the driver or the passenger fails to wear the seat belt, each could be cited for a seat belt violation and fined $75.

Buckle Up: Question 5 True or False? In CT a police officer may pull a driver over solely for not wearing a seat belt. Read the 5th question.

Buckle Up True CT has a primary seat belt law. A primary seat belt law allows police officers to stop and ticket someone for not buckling up. In CT there is a $92 fine for not buckling up. Keep these things in mind next time you get in a vehicle: Odds are you'll be in a bad car crash at least once in your life. Crashes happen more often to young people than anyone else - even the good drivers. Safety belts more than double the chances of surviving a bad wreck. It only takes about 3 seconds to buckle up.

Buckle Up: Question 6 True or False? If your car is equipped with air bags, you do not need to wear a seat belt. Read the 6th question.

Buckle Up False If your car is equipped with air bags, you still need to wear a seat belt. Air bags were never intended to replace seat belts. Air bags are designed to work with seat belts, not replace them. Without a seat belt you could crash into the vehicle interior, other passengers, or be ejected from the vehicle. In virtually all circumstances, the chance of survival in a crash is much greater if the occupant is not ejected from the vehicle. According to the Automotive Safety Council - Airbags and safety belts used together reduce the risk of serious and fatal injuries by 40 to 55 percent. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - When all cars have airbags, it's estimated this combination can save nearly 11,000 lives per year. It is estimated that airbags have reduced head-on crash fatalities by up to 30 percent and moderate-to-severe injuries by 25 to 29 percent. Injury claims at hospitals resulting from traffic crashes have dropped 24 percent as a result of airbags. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) about 20,000 front-seat passenger-car occupants are killed annually on U.S. roads as the result of car crashes. Another 300,000 suffer injuries serious enough to require hospital treatment.

Q & A

Thank You! 200 Day Hill Road, Suite 250 Windsor, CT 06095 Office 860.219.0291 Helpline 800.278.8242 general@biact.org BIACT.org Thank You! “I want to thank you for participating. I hope we’ve learned a few strategies for preventing brain injury and staying safe. Now if we can learn the results of the game.” Ask the scorekeeper to tell you the final score. Congratulate the winning team (or both teams if there is a tie) and tell everyone that we are all winners because we learned some new tips for being safer. Pass out giveaways if you have them and thank everyone for coming.