Only 89 Percent of Alaskans Wear Their Seat Belt

Seat belts save lives. It’s really that simple.

Unfortunately, there is still a percentage of Alaskans that choose not to buckle up. As an experienced auto accident injury attorney in Anchorage, I’ve seen the sad consequences of not wearing a seat belt, affecting the lives of so many people.

According to the Alaska Injury Prevention Center (AIPC), 39 percent of the fatalities in Alaska were to unbelted drivers. This is down from 55 percent in 2011.

National research has found that lap/shoulder belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent.

For light pick-up truck drivers and passengers, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.

Ejection from a vehicle is one of the most dangerous events that can happen to a person in crash. In fatal crashes in 2010, 78 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were totally ejected from the vehicle died in accident.

This is where seat belts again come to the rescue of Alaskans. Only one percent of the occupants reported to have been using restraints were totally ejected; 32 percent of the unrestrained occupants were totally ejected.

89 percent of Alaskans surveyed by the AIPC say they always wear their seatbelt, similar to self-reports and observational surveys conducted in 2011 and 2010.

As an auto accident injury attorney—and Anchorage driver myself—I implore you to please buckle up. Make sure all your passengers (especially children) are buckled up as well.

If you have been injured in an auto accident caused by the negligence of another driver, with or without your seatbelt on, contact our Anchorage office right away.