A number of fatal accidents occurred in Mississippi around Thanksgiving this year. One night, four fatal, single-vehicle accidents occurred. Three of the four drivers in the fatal accidents were not wearing seat belts. This tragic group of accidents is illustrative of the dangers of not wearing a seat belt.
In Mississippi, drivers and front seat passengers are required by Section 63-2 of the Mississippi Code to wear a seat belt. Also, children under age seven must be buckled into a child safety seat that is appropriate for their size, age, and weight. As you can see, the seat belt requirements in Mississippi do not cover all of the passengers in every vehicle. Adult passengers in rear seats are not required to wear seatbelts, nor are children between the ages of seven and eighteen who sit in the back seat.
Seat belt laws like the ones that apply to drivers and passengers in Mississippi play an important role in ensuring that many drivers and passengers wear their seat belts. Seat belts are recognized as the single most effective way to prevent injuries and deaths from car accidents. There are many ways that seat belts save lives, but perhaps the most important reason is that seat belts keep people inside of vehicles.
People who do not wear seatbelts are thirty times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during an accident than those people who do buckle up. When people are ejected from their vehicles, it is highly likely that death will result. In any given automobile accident where one or more people are ejected from the vehicle, there is a seventy-five percent chance that the person or people who were ejected from the vehicle will die either immediately or later on as the result of their injuries.
Seatbelt use also reduces the severity of injuries that drivers and passengers receive in car accidents. The medical bills of automobile accident victims who were wearing seat belts when their accidents occurred are about fifty percent lower than the medical bills of accident victims who were not wearing their seat belts when the vehicle that they were diving or riding in crashed. Children are at an even higher risk of being severely injured or killed in a car accident if they are not using the right car seat or seatbelt, and this is why there are specific seat belt and child safety seat rules that apply to child passengers. Choosing the correct child safety seat or belt for your child’s age, height, and weight is a good start towards keeping them safe in the car; however parents must be aware that a child’s car seat or booster seat must be installed in the vehicle correctly for it to prevent injury and death in a car accident. If you have questions about whether you are using the right seats for your kids, or if your kids’ car seats are installed correctly, you can get a free car seat safety check at many local police departments and fire stations.
Giddens Law Firm, P.A.: Representing Those Who Are Injured in Mississippi Automobile Accidents
The Mississippi Automobile Accident Attorneys of the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. are here to help the victims of Mississippi automobile accidents. If you were injured or if someone that you love was killed in an automobile accident, you may have many questions on your mind. Please call our office today, at (601) 355-2022, to learn more about how we can help you.