arizona seatbelt laws

As Phoenix personal injury lawyers, have seen cases in which there was no working seatbelt available for someone injured in a motor vehicle accident. These sorts of situations in which a person fails to wear a seatbelt because there were none available are rare, but the injured person in such cases is excused legally from the obligation to wear a seatbelt. Juries are also more likely to be forgiving of someone not wearing a seatbelt who did not have one available, particularly if they were in someone else’s vehicle, than for a person who simply chose not to wear a seatbelt when one was available.

That said, we do know there are times when wearing a seatbelt may actually increase the extent of a person’s injuries. If you start to talk about saving lives, however, generally speaking the odds are on those who wear seatbelts. Seatbelts will not always help, and seatbelts do not save lives in every single accident. There will be a small percentage of accidents in which wearing a seatbelt causes greater injury, yet to suggest that because of this seatbelts should never be worn is simply ludicrous. We have seen in our time as experienced Chandler personal injury lawyers, how seatbelts save lives. In fact, seatbelts have saved more lives on more occasions in Arizona and throughout the U.S. than anyone can truly estimate. You should wear your seatbelt every time you get into a car, because it is safer and because it is the smart thing to do.

Now, some people argue that wearing a seatbelt should be a choice. This suggestion, if put into action, would inevitably cause more serious injuries and more deaths in car accidents. As Maricopa County personal injury attorneys, we have helped many people have severe injuries from car accidents. We have helped family members of people who have died in automobile accidents. As experts in this field, we know sometimes that serious injury or death could have been prevented if a seatbelt had been worn. So think about the people you love when you make a decision not to wear a seatbelt, and think about your own financial interests as well, if that will motivate you to buckle up.

Arizona seatbelt laws are confusing for some of the people who live in the state. Most people understand that in the state of Arizona, the law requires you to wear a seatbelt. Most people also realize that it has been a law in this state as well as most other states in the country, that the driver must wear a seatbelt while driving. Most people also know that they can get a traffic ticket if they are stopped and are not wearing a seatbelt.

When it comes to how failing to wear a seatbelt can affect a personal injury claim, however, the issue is quite a bit more complex.

As knowledgeable Arizona personal injury lawyers, we feel it is worthwhile to state the obvious. You should always wear your seatbelt. Most of us have heard stories about how people who chose not to wear seatbelts were told by medical personnel in the emergency room or by other experts how they were saved by not wearing a seatbelt. We question the accuracy of these hearsay reports, firstly. Secondly, these types of statements, if true, come from medical doctors, body shop workers, or other people who were not at the scene of the accident, and who have not investigated it thoroughly to determine what exactly happened. Many such comments are made by people who are not experts, and who could not determine in any case if a person’s injuries were lessened by not wearing a seatbelt.

If you have been in a car accident that was caused by another driver’s negligence and you were not wearing a seatbelt, you may find it helpful to contact a skilled Chandler auto accident injury lawyer who has years of experience handling such cases. Call the attorneys at Breyer Law Offices, P.C. today for a free, no-obligation consultation and to learn more about your legal rights and options as an auto accident victim.