Fraternity-Testvériség, 1963 (40. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1963-04-01 / 4. szám
4 FRATERNITY SEAT BELT SAFETY The fact that 38,000 Americans were killed and another 1,400,000 were injured in traffic accidents last year does not seem sufficiently tragic to motivate an apathetic public to accept a proven safety device available to them — the automobile seat belt. Why do we look at such statistics with indifference? Why do we subject ourselves to the peril of becoming an auto fatality when a cure is available? No one can explain; even officials are dismayed by the public’s lack of acceptance. The value of seat belts as a saver of lives cannot be questioned — they do work. Yet, only five percent of the nation’s 64 million passenger cars are fitted with seat belts. No longer are seat belts expensive, difficult to install, bulky, uncomfortable and unattractive. They are available in colors, are designed to give a fashionable appearance, and cost less while maintaining legal safety specifications. Officials believe that 35 to 60 percent of the nearly 40,000 Americans killed annually in auto accidents could be saved by seat belts. Deaths and injury occur when the car crashes and its beltless passengers continue to move forward at unreduced speeds, hurling against some part of the interior or being ejected out of the car. Seat belts hold the occupants in their seats, thus reducing the chance of injury. With this in mind, U. S. automobile manufacturers are now installing front seat belt attachment fixtures as standard equipment on all cars. Don’t think that seat belts are needed for long trips only. Three out of four traffic fatalities occur within 25 miles of home, so they should be worn on all short drives. Seat belts protect you at moderate speed, too. Half the accidents causing injury or death involve speeds of less than 40 miles per hour. Several states have passed laws requiring use of the belts. New York recently passed legislation that will require all 1965 model passenger cars registered or sold in the state to be equipped with at least two safety belts in the front seat. Similarly, colleges and universities are requiring their students to get them. Most state and highway patrol cars use them. The Army recommended their use after discovering during the Korean War that it was losing more men in auto accidents than in battle. Still, the public is slow to accept this safety feature. But a decade of driver apathy is being challenged today. Help reduce the tragic number of motorists who are killed, maimed and injured each year in automobile accidents. Join the fight to save lives. Buy and use automobile seat belts. It’s the safe thing to do.
