By Zane T. Cagle | May 23, 2018 | Car Accidents, Featured, Personal Injury, Wrongful Death
Missouri is One of Lowest Seat Belt Compliance States
Missouri requires that all occupants of a motor vehicle be properly restrained, yet Missourians continue to fail to buckle up. When involved in a car accident without a seat belt, the occupants statistically suffer more serious injuries or death.
Too many lives are lost each year in fatal motor vehicle crashes.
The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) is the only survey that provides nationwide probability-based observed data on seat belt use in the U.S., and is used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Seat belt use has shown an increase in use trend since 2000, accompanied by a steady decline in the unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants killed during the daytime. Seat belt use across the U.S. is about 90.1 percent, however, in the Midwest, it remains about 85.5 percent.
Missouri specifically, falls behind the national average for seat belt usage. For front seat passengers specifically, front seat passengers have a national average of 86 percent, but in Missouri the rate is only 79%. Missouri and other Midwest states drag down the national average despite seat belt laws, education and public awareness campaigns.
As Memorial Day weekend is almost upon us, the practice of using your seat belt is one of the most proactive safety things you can do. Across the country, we know that seat belt usage has a dramatic impact on survival rates of those persons involved in a motor vehicle crash. In a scenario where the car flips, a person who is not buckled up can be thrown from the vehicle. Statically, you are much more likely to survive a car crash if you remain in the car. Once someone is ejected from the car, the injuries are always severe if not deadly.
If you’ve been hurt in car crash that was not your fault, you will need legal help. Unless you deal with insurance companies for a living in the way that an attorney does, you are not equipped. Insurance companies simply deal with represented individuals differently. Representing injured car crash victims is what we do.
You may not know if you need an attorney and that we can help you decide. Since it’s free and confidential to call, it is silly to not take advantage of a free consultation to see if you are in a situation where you need legal help. Get the information right away.
The Cagle Law Firm serves accident and injury clients throughout St. Louis and the greater St. Louis metro area, including St. Louis Counties of Chesterfield, Wildwood, Eureka, Ladue, Olivette, Clayton, Kirkwood, Fenton, Affton, and Jefferson Counties of Arnold, High Ridge, Antonia, House Springs, and the eastern Missouri and southern Illinois communities. If you or your family needs legal assistance with your personal injury case, call The Cagle Law Firm at (314) 276-1681 or use our online contact form to request a free case review or get more information.
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