Seat belts originally came into use in early aircraft and were first used in automobiles when Nash introduced them in 1949, but it was not until the 1960’s that primitive lap belts became mandatory. Initially, consumers worried about poking holes in seat covers and floorboards, where exhaust gases may enter the occupant space. Later, when seat belts came installed, many people treated them as spare parts. Now, there are even dashboard reminders in many cars that are connected to sensors in the seat and in the seat belts that stay lit when the alternator is generating electricity for the vehicle until the circuit is closed by latching the belt buckle.
So, other than saving the lives of drivers and all the other occupants of cars, why should people wear seat belts?
The main reason to wear a seat belt
Seat belts—in particular, the combination lap and shoulder belt—have saved thousands of lives since they became mandatory accessories in automobiles. Seat belts are intended to protect vehicle occupants from getting hurled forward in the event of a frontal or rear collision, preventing serious injuries that may occur as a result of striking the dashboard, windshield, mirror and steering wheel. Seat belts also save lives during serious collisions involving rollovers by keeping the occupants from getting ejected and suffering serious injuries when being thrown from the vehicle and possibly being rolled over by their own vehicle.
Overall design changes for safety of occupants
During the early days of the age of the motor carriage, accidents were considered unavoidable. Cars were built to be solid, with a door-latching mechanism that allowed the doors to be flung open in minor deformations of the body. The window frames were solid steel, and the glass shattered with devastating results, causing grave and often fatal injuries.
Today’s vehicles have padded dashboards, safety glass that shatters into tiny pieces, padded sun visors, breakaway rearview mirrors, and front- and side-impact airbags, but one of the most important innovations has been the collapsible steering column, which is designed to collapse in length rather than being shoved into the interior, impaling the unfortunate chauffeur and sometimes pinning him or her to the ceiling.
Limits to seat belt effectiveness
The seat belt’s primary role is to keep the occupants from being violently thrown around, continuing the linear movement of a crash with the energy that is stored in their bodies.
Of course, there is a limit to the amount of g-forces that a human body can absorb, and the physics that come into play greatly increase with speed, as shown in this example:
A vehicle is traveling at 80 mph on a straight road and suddenly collides with an immovable force such as a concrete wall, a bridge support or an oncoming truck.
While the occupants may be safely ensconced in the impact-absorbing body of their car, with seat belts and air bags, the physical automobile will be thoroughly destroyed and the occupants, while protected by all that gear, are in all likelihood quite deceased.
While there may not be too many external injuries, below the skin and inside the skull and chest, there are organs that play an important part in your life, primarily the brain, hearts, lungs, actually pretty much everything that keeps you functioning properly. At 80 mph, all of these marvelous organs that you do not pay much attention to unless they demand it continue their journey inside of you for a few thousandths of a second after impact, and then they come to a crashing halt inside your skull, chest and stomach area, generally with disastrous results.
If you have the same accident at a slower speed, all of the safety devices in the vehicle kick in to save your life, but the seat belt keeps you restrained in the safest place immediately after an accident: in your vehicle and not on the roadway.
