To many people, seatbelt laws are plain and simple. Most citizens know that in the State of Arizona, you are required by law to wear a seatbelt while driving. Not following the law can result in a traffic ticket being issued. Enough said in most cases. But when failure to wear a seatbelt becomes a factor in a personal injury claim, things get a little bit more complicated.
Why Should I Wear a Seatbelt?
Let’s talk about the obvious first. You should always wear your seatbelt. Period. We’ve heard people say that they have a friend or relative who was involved in an accident and says the only reason they are alive is because they were NOT wearing their seatbelt. But we question the accuracy of this kind of statement. Typically, when someone hears this, it comes from a doctor in an emergency room who was not at the scene of the collision, or body shop workers who are not accident reconstruction experts. In other words, these comments are coming from people who are NOT true experts in determining the damages and injuries that resulted from not wearing a seatbelt.
That being said, we do know that there are some cases where people are actually injured more because they were wearing a seatbelt. Seatbelts don’t help every time or save lives in every single accident. But these cases are few and far between – and to suggest that that is a good reason not to wear a seatbelt is just plain silly.
Also, some people argue that wearing a seatbelt is a choice and it’s up to each individual to make that choice and take the risk of suffering a serious injury. At Breyer Law Offices, our experienced Arizona auto accident lawyers have seen many people who have suffered horrible injuries or have had family members killed in car accidents. In some cases, the person injured or killed wasn’t wearing their seatbelt and the tragedy could have been prevented if they’d just strapped themselves in.
The reality of the situation is that seatbelts save lives more often than not. They save lives every hour of every day in Arizona and throughout the country. Wearing a seatbelt is the safe and smart thing to do for many reasons.
