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Fasten up, go!

Seat belts secure our safety on the roads to a great extent. But how many of us use them?

Photo: Vijaya Bhaskar

SAFETY MATTERS Seat belts can make the difference

When late Lee Jong-Wook, former Director General of the World Health Organisation said, “Road safety is no accident,” he probably had the millions of road users in India in mind who risk their lives by ignoring safety precautions such as wearing a seat belt.

Case histories abound of lives saved thanks to the seat belt. Recounting the story of a lucky survivor who escaped unhurt thanks to his seatbelt, Dr. S. Sivamurugan, Orthopaedic Surgeon, says, “Rohit is a successful business executive in his early thirties.

On that eventful December evening, while trying to negotiate a curve on the highway, his car lost balance, toppled and came crashing to the ground. After all those heart stopping moments, Rohit escaped with minor injuries.”

Says Dr. Sivamurugan, “In the event of a car crash, seat belts are intended to keep you in place and reduce injuries by preventing you from hitting hard, interior elements of the vehicle .”

Explains S. M. Iqbal, president, Rane TRW Steering Systems, “The passengers’ chest and other parts of the body are protected by not allowing movement beyond the specified level as per standards.”

Why don’t people wear seat belts ?

“People imagine that they need to wear seat belts only for long distance travel. This is a grave blunder as head on collisions even on local trips can cause serious physical injuries to the passengers,” says Dr. Sivamurugan.

Also remember that the best place to be in an accident is your car, rather than being airborne. And if you need to get out in case of a fire you are better off if you haven’t been knocked unconscious in your car. As for airbags, they increase the effectiveness of a seat belt by 40 per cent. So buckle up that seat belt as a matter of habit.

SUDHA UMASHANKER

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