Law Enforcement Encourages Thanksgiving Travelers To Buckle Up
Special to NWA Media
The Thanksgiving holiday period is one of the busiest travel times of the year, and area law enforcement representatives encourage people to buckle up, every trip.
“During the long Thanksgiving travel weekend, many more people than usual are on the roads visiting family and friends,” said Cpl. Mike Calnan of the Bentonville Police Department, which participates in nationwide enforcement efforts. “And we want to alert everyone that perhaps the single best thing they can do to save lives is to insist on the regular and proper use of their seat belts.”
Seat belts saved more than 12,500 lives nationwide during 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Research shows the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants is reduced by 45 percent, and the risk of moderate to serious injury is reduced by 50 percent, when seat beats are worn correctly.
Fifty-one percent of the 22,187 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle crashes during 2010 were not wearing seat belts, according to a news release.
During the 2010 Thanksgiving holiday, 337 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes nationwide, and 55 percent of those were not wearing seatbelts.
Nationally in 2010, 61 percent of the 10,647 passenger vehicle occupants who were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes during the overnight hours were not wearing their seat belts, compared to 42 percent during the daytime hours.
For more information about traveling safely during Thanksgiving, visit TrafficSafetyMarketing.gov.