Seat belt use is at around 90 percent, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is surprising or not depending on your view of humanity. Still, that means that there are still many who don’t use them, and, of crash deaths last year, over half of them were unbelted, The Wall Street Journal reports.
It is the first time that number has been that high since 2012, after a seven percent increase in crash fatalities to 38,680 in a year when most of us were driving less for pandemic reasons. Across the U.S. last year, fatalities in which vehicle occupants were ejected rose 20% compared to 2019, and such deaths were higher among young men than other demographic groups
Sgt. Dan Silvia, who heads the traffic unit at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office in metro Denver, said he heard different excuses as he handed drivers $75 citations. “It’s usually, ‘I forgot,’” he said. But he said some drivers complained about the government telling them what to do, and one man vowed he would never wear a seat belt.
Read the article at MSN.
