Room to Live

As school is coming to a close and more teen drivers will be on the roadways, let this summer 2013 tragic accident serve as a reminder to always buckle up.

Shortly after midnight, a 17-year-old was travelling at a high rate of speed when he lost control, rolled his vehicle, and slammed into a house.  The homeowner, who was asleep at the time, said she ran outside and found a teen dead in her flower bed.  It was later determined that the young man was ejected from the back seat; he was not wearing a seat belt.  The driver and front seat passenger survived; both were wearing a seatbelt.  If not, they likely would have been thrown into the windshield and possibly ejected.

Although speeding played a role in this rollover accident, police said the deceased teen would most likely have survived if he had buckled up.  Despite the vehicle’s substantial damage, the passenger compartment of the car was not crushed. The teen had “room to live”; all he had to do was buckle up.

Vehicles today are built with safety and survival in mind; the front and rear ‘crumple zones’ absorb the impact and the cabin or “cage” is reinforced to stay intact.  During a rollover the windshield will typically shatter and the doors may bend in, but the driver and passengers are left with “room to live“.

The numbers don’t lie; seatbelts save lives.  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates seat-belt use reduces serious injuries and deaths by approximately 50 percent. It is really tragic that people don’t understand or ignore the facts.  At a minimum, seatbelts can prevent an occupant from being or ejected from the vehicle.

It only takes a second to “click it”.  Don’t let the absence of that one simple act be your last.  You have the room; you have the choice. Make the smart one!

Mark Bello has thirty-seven years experience as a trial lawyer and fifteen years as a leading expert in the lawsuit funding industry.  His company, Lawsuit Financial Corporation, provides necessities of life funding to plaintiffs involved in pending, personal injury, litigation. He is a Member, Justice Pac Member, and Sustaining Member of numerous state and national justice associations.