1.4 Seat Belts
Seat belts save lives. Always wear one!
1.4.1 How do seat belts work in a crash?
There are two types of collision in any road crash:
n The car collision is the first collision. The car hits
something and then comes to a stop. The part of the
vehicle that receives the first impact of the collision
stops immediately. In most cases, the engine
bay or the boot absorbs some of the impact. The
driver/passenger compartment sometimes remains
comparatively undamaged.
n The human collision is the second and more
dangerous collision. In this collision, occupants are
thrown about inside the car, or even out of the car.
If you are not restrained by a seat belt, you will keep moving inside the car if it comes
to a sudden stop.
If you are travelling at 100 km/h on impact, your body will still be moving at that speed
after the collision.
If you are not wearing a seat belt, you will hit some part of the car or the other people
in the car. The higher the speed, the greater the force with which you will be thrown
around inside the car or out of the car.
It is the human collision that injures and kills people.
Seat belts can help prevent injury and death.
1.4.2 Why you should wear a seat belt
Seat belts prevent the human collision.
Wearing a seat belt will protect you from being thrown about in the driver/passenger
compartment – hitting parts of the car, other occupants or being thrown from the
vehicle.