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-   -   ARTICLE: Seat Belts Saved My Life! True Stories & Pictures from BHPians (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/road-safety/132323-article-seat-belts-saved-my-life-true-stories-pictures-bhpians-2.html)

Another good one on wearing seat belt

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWN6kchSI2E

Great. Please do.

Paraphrasing Newtons law of motion:

"An object in motion continues to stay in motion with the same speed and direction, unless acted upon by an external force."

So this means if you were travelling at 10 km/h without your belt, you'd hit the windshield at around 10 km/h if the car came to an immediate stop.

10 km/h might not sound like much in car-terms, but its the speed of a person running. So imagine yourself running straight into a windshield... that would hurt.

Excellent one! Will add it to the article itself.

Unfortunately i hear this a lot when it comes to DUI as well.

Hah, nice one. There was another movie where a car-jacker jumps into the passengers seat with a gun, and the driver notices that they aren't buckled up - so speeds up and drives straight into a lamp-post, shooting the car-jacker through the windshield.

[There's also a pretty cool car chase scene from some other movie where the person in front slams on the brakes just enough so the tailgating car just about hits him. That causes the chase car's airbags to go off, startling and blocking the view for the drivers, and the car in front drives off.]

cya
R

Rehaan , Very well written and compiled. If this cannot get anyone to understand the value of seat belts, nothing will.
The moment I start the car and I leave it to idle for the first one minute, thats the time I have kept aside for buckling up making sure things are at the right place before I start driving.
Frankly I am so used to wearing seat belts now, that even when I am sitting in the rear seats, I feel uncomfortable and unsafe without wearing the seat belt !!

Thanks for this !!


Applies for all those smart people who say " it's not compulsory here " or " not required in the city " or " not required in the rear "

.... And for those stupid 2 wheeler riders who say " helmet not compulsory here " or " not required for pillion , no fines !!"

Adding the best video explaining seatbelts I have ever seen. That too, in under 1 minute!

The video clearly explains the "3 strikes/collisions"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq9OLd-XtHE

From the video
"Richard didn't want to die.
But he couldn't stop himself.

The collision with the car DIDN'T kill him.
But he wasn't wearing a seat belt; so he continued on his journey.
When he hit the inside of the car, that DIDN'T kill him either.
But his internal organs carried on travelling, until they HIT his rib-cage and his lungs were PUNCTURED and the main artery from his heart was TORN.

And that's what killed Richard."

--------------------------------
This is going to be a priceless thread. As many have remarked, this is the best go-to reference on seat belts.

I have always been a lover of seat belts. Most often, I don't un-click even if I'm parked and is waiting for someone without leaving the car.
I'm happy about this 'obsession'.

Information compiled here could be used into making infographics and videos.
All this could be crunched & designed into a booklet or a flyer which could be stocked in your car to be given to the naysayers as and when required.
(Maybe the T-BHP Store could sell these! It could be localized into regional languages as well!)

People need to understand that Indian roads are not meant for high speeds. I would say not even the 4 lane "Expressways". Instead of saying things like "seat belts saved my life" most of these people should talk about what speed were they driving, how were they overtaking, how many people in the car, etc.

you need to spread the word about not driving above 60 - 70 kmph on Indian roads along with road safety tips.

a high speed crash with rash driving with seat belts on and all other "safety tips" is not going to save car occupants.

Thank you for this Rehaan. This thread should inspire more people to wear their belts. I have a couple points to add:

• From a personal accident, I learnt that seat belts save when you are rear ended too. Example - I was rear ended by a speeding Dzire at the footsteps of the Sion bridge. I was doing 50 kmph and braked hard to avoid the jerk in front of me who decided to cut the divider and change lanes. I wasn't so fortunate and the Dzire which was coming fast rear ended me at about 60 kmph. I was completely stationary when the impact happened but still got thrown ahead. The only reason I did not meet the steering was because I WAS WEARING my SEATBELT!!
• Example 2 - A friend lost control of his Vento and spun out of control and ended in a ditch by the road upside down. The only reason he and his wife walked out alive was because both were wearing belts.

So there it is people. I have given 2 examples (one of impact when stationary and one of where the car turned turtle. And in both cases, we walked without a bruise because we wore belts.

Lastly - I cannot thank Fiat enough for installing the annoying beep which refuses to stop if you aren't wearing your seat belt while on the move.

Are you sure speeds of 60 and 70 will keep the occupants absolutely safe? What you are saying is not incorrect but it is on a smaller scale. What is being discussed here is a much broader topic where even stationery cars being rammed from behind by a trailer can save lives if the occupants are wearing seat belts. It is not always about speed or your rash driving, it is about other indisciplined drivers and your bad luck as well. You are correct but somehow IMO what you wrote does not belong here.

I had an exactly similar incident at SEEPZ last year. I was in my Esteem (which is not as solid as say, a VW or a FIAT vehicle) and was rear-ended by a Fiesta (heavier and more solid than a dZire)at a speed of ~50kmph. Fortunately, had my belt on and ended up not being the paint on the dashboard. Seems like both God and the seat belt were at work, then :)

Well, that award should go to the Scorpio where the lady annoys you to no end :thumbs up

-Shivang Gandotra

I agree that Indian road manners and infrastructure have a LONG way to go before these roads can be considered even relatively safe.

However, just because some of these accidents look extremely nasty doesn't mean that the drivers were speeding or driving rashly.

Either way, i don't see how encouraging people to wear their seat belts could hurt in this case. At least its a step in the right direction, as "accidents" will happen, regardless of how well or how fast someone is driving.

Do take a look through the other articles I've linked to. There's a lot of effort going into spreading the word of driving safely and sanely on our roads.

Well thats not entirely true. Seat belts are fairly impartial. It's luck that plays favourites.

In some cases a good driver in a 50 km/h crash with his seat belts on may not survive, while a drunk 16-yr old at 180 km/h (also wearing his seat belts) might live to tell the tale. Either which way, seat belts increase chances of survival drastically.

Excellent point. Thanks.

As for the roll over, do watch one of the videos I've linked to in the last post of the write-up. It shows a roll-over where all the occupants are wearing their belts. In some stories (eg. Frontosa's) he even said that his car came to rest upside down and he was hanging by his seat belt (rather than landing on his head).

cya
R

Together, seatbelts and the "supplementary restraint system" airbags reduce injury by upto 70%.
This is a staggering number.

Thanks a zillion for this thread, Rehaan.

After being used to wearing seat belts while driving, I automatically wear seat belts when seated at the rear too. But have seen this move hurt the feelings of the driver, and I have to take pains to explain that it is not an indication of the driver's skills.

The technical information presented this thread will give me enough ammo to present my case.

Also, one of the most common excuses to not wearing seat belts, as most have mentioned is: "You don't need these at city speeds".
What happens is, everyone thinks about the rapid but controlled deceleration that happens when one brakes hard, and does not realise that the deceleration in an actualcrash(30kmph to 0kmph in less than a second) is unimaginably fast.
One of my close relatives used to argue with me that, since she presses the brake hard and clasps the steering tightly in case of emergencies, there is no risk of her head hitting the wind shield!

Thanks for this.
I have come through an incident because of a seatbelt, and concur. In entirety.
I flipped my santro over on to its passenger side at about 40 kmph on a roundabout, and it stopped within 3-4 feet as it hit an abutment.Had not been for me being buckled in, I would have rolled around in the car quite hard.
As it was, When i became, aware, I was still strapped tightly to the seat, with NO injuries. Without the belt on, I would have hit the ceiling, windscreen, steering, before being reclaimed quite violently by gravity to reintroduce myself to the passenger side , which was the floor.

The only injury was a light sprain on my wrist which occurred when I unbuckled and promptly slid over.

So, do, DO, buckle up.
Oh, and also, there are some people who have this logic of not having a helmet on, or dont buckle up, as "its close to my house, yahin tak to jaana hai(I only have to go till XXX, a close spot)."
Dont.
this happened about 500 metres from home for me.

Thanks Rehaan. An excellent compilation. :thumbs up
Good to see TBHP reinforcing the "safety" aspect on the portal.

Good going!!!

Great thread Rehaan. Like many informed bhpians, I always wear seat belts (front seats or back) regardless of speeds and roads, and I always ask occupants of my car to wear them.

From personal experience, twice in accidents, I came out without almost a scratch, and once so did other occupants of my car. In one of them, the car had hit the median and rested on the passenger side.

When I travel in some of the cabs which have the seat belt slots removed / hidden deep inside the seats, I mentally curse the driver - sometimes, even tell him that he should not remove the buckle slots.

Advocacy is never enough when it comes to wearing seatbelts and helmets on the roads.