Buckle up, front seat and back
In one line
Wearing a seat belt in the front seat cuts the risk of dying in a crash by more than 40%. The back seat counts too.
What it costs
Free. About 2 seconds each ride.
What you get
NHTSA estimates a 45% lower risk of fatal injury for front-seat car occupants, and 60% for front-seat occupants of light trucks. WHO says seat belts cut the risk of death for vehicle occupants by up to about half.
How strong the evidence is
Source
NHTSA (2024), DOT HS 813 573. WHO, Road traffic injuries fact sheet.
Watch-outs
The 45% and 60% figures are estimates from crash data, not a randomized trial. In the same report, many second-row deaths with known restraint use were unbelted.
Adapted from HowToLiveBetter item 1-1.
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