People are 80 times more likely to be thrown from vehicles when they are not wearing their seatbelts

TOMAH, Wis. (WKBT) – A vehicle accident death is eight times more likely if a person is not wearing their seat belt. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation launched its “Click it or Ticket” campaign on Monday. The message goes beyond a fine for those who do not buckle up.

“We want people to be safe,” Wisconsin State Patrol Private Christina Holtz told Tomah Post.

The consequences go far beyond a person’s wallet.

“It’s a really big risk,” Holtz said.

Let a few simple calculations prove Holtz’s point.

“You’re 80 times more likely to be ejected if you’re not wearing your seatbelt,” she said.

Holtz has been in accidents where people chose to drive without a seatbelt.

“It’s a very horrific scene to see someone being thrown out of a vehicle,” Holtz said.

So people can imagine why that means anything to her.

“We don’t want people to have that experience,” Holtz said.

Motor vehicle collisions are a leading cause of death for people aged 1 to 54 in the United States.

“Unbelted drivers and passengers represent half of those involved in fatal crashes across the state,” Wisconsin State Patrol superintendent Anthony Burrell said at a “Click it or Ticket” at American Family Field on May 6.

For more than a decade, the Wisconsin DOT has recruited grassroots voices to inspire seatbelt use, including former Green Bay Packers great Donald Driver.

“The most important thing to do to save your life is to buckle up. It starts with the person driving and then it goes to the passengers in the vehicle,” Driver said.

Thus, the soldiers say that to buckle his belt takes a few seconds of time.

“Make it a habit,” Holtz said. “Every trip, every time.”

The ticket in this sentence is only a reminder before the consequences of the absence of a seat belt become irreversible.

Note to parents: anyone under the age of four must be seated in a car seat. Any child between four and eight years old must travel in a booster seat.

A seatbelt survey found that about 88% of drivers and passengers in Wisconsin had buckled up in 2021. That number was down two percentage points from the national average.

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