Your parents are not the only ones who think that seatbelts make a big difference in whether a traffic collision leads to catastrophe. The data agree with them, and so do insurance claims adjusters. Motor vehicle occupants who were not wearing seatbelts at the time of impact account for a disproportionate share of traffic fatalities. Even in non-fatal collisions, drivers and passengers who do not wear seatbelts usually sustain more serious injuries than their counterparts who do.
New Mexico is a modified comparative negligence state, which means that the other driver’s insurance can pay for your accident-related expenses if you bear less than half of the fault for the accident, but the amount of money you can get varies according to the percentage of fault that the insurance companies assign to you. If you were not wearing a seatbelt, but you were not at fault for the accident, the insurance companies will interpret this to mean that the other driver could have prevented your injuries by not hitting your car, but you also could have prevented them by wearing a seatbelt. For help getting compensation for your medical bills after an accident where you were not wearing a seatbelt, contact a Santa Fe motor car accident lawyer.
Safety Features of Modern Seatbelts
Seatbelts have done more to reduce traffic fatalities than any other motor vehicle safety feature. The safest thing that seatbelts do is simply to exist. Even a simple lap belt greatly decreases the chances that you will be ejected from the vehicle in a collision, and therefore, it increases the chances that you will survive. Seatbelts have only gotten safer over the years, though, especially with the addition of airbags to cars. Most new cars have seatbelts with a shoulder strap and lap belt combined as one piece for the driver, the front passenger, and three rear passengers. These belts have pre-tensioners that cause them to tighten if the passenger wearing the belt suddenly moves forward. They also have load limiters that restrict how much the belt can tighten so that it does not tighten enough to cause injury.
What is the Safest Seat in the Car?
No matter where in the car you sit, you are much safer with a seatbelt than without one. Likewise, new cars have so many airbags that the necessary ones will inflate depending on which part of your car gets hit. Despite this, drivers and front-seat passengers are at risk of serious injury in frontal collisions, even if they wear seatbelts and even if the car is traveling at a speed considered normal for traffic on a city street. Likewise, in T-bone collisions, the passengers on the side of the car that receives the impact have the highest injury risk. The rear middle seat is not the first point of impact, no matter the angle of the collision.
Contact Slate Stern About Car Accident Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in car accidents. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505) 814-1517 to discuss your case.
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