It’s National Seat Belt Day! Here’s the One Situation When We Still Don’t Wear Them

It’s National Seat Belt Day.  So if you only buckle up once this year . . . make it today.  (???)

Seat belts haven’t been a requirement for as long as you’d think.  New York was the first state to require them 38 years ago in 1984.  New Hampshire is the only state where it’s still not mandatory for adults.

Even though most people wear them now, a recent study found there’s one situation where we’re less likely to wear a seat belt:  28% of us don’t always buckle up in UBERS and other rideshares.

It’s because you’re usually in the back seat, which people see as a little less dangerous.  And we’re also just less likely to buckle up on short trips.

The back seat isn’t really that safe though.  Another study found rear-seat riders are eight times more likely to get injured in a crash if they’re not buckled up.

You can also become a projectile.  So do it for your Uber driver’s safety too.  Drivers are twice as likely to be fatally injured in a crash if the person sitting directly behind them isn’t buckled in.

(National Today / The Zebra)