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Are you getting tired of hearing the same thing over and over? Do you also feel you get preached at because someone else makes a mistake?
Let me begin by saying thank you to the 93 percent who are consistently wearing their seat belts. The few seconds it takes to put on a seatbelt could save your life. For the 7 percent of you who are not wearing your seat belt, I hope I can persuade you to wear your seat belt at all times.
***image1***Why do we have 100 percent seat belt compliance at the base gate, yet a survey conducted in July revealed that seat belt usage rate was only 73 percent in another area of Ramstein? The average on-base seat belt usage during the month of July was 93 percent. Everyone knows how to put on a seatbelt, so why not wear them all of the time?
Statistics show that use of seat belts saves lives. According to car-accident.com, 63 percent of people killed in car accidents did not have a seat belt on. If 90 percent of all Americans in the United States wore their seat belts, more than 5,500 people would survive each year. Inpatient hospital care costs for an unbelted crash victim is 50 percent higher than those for a belted crash victim.
Every American pays more than $580 dollars each year to help pay doctor bills for people injured in a vehicle mishap. So far in fiscal year 2008, 41 percent of all fatal car mishaps involved Air Force personnel who were not wearing a seat belt.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration stated that the nighttime driving period having the highest percentage of unrestrained fatalities is from midnight to
3 a.m. This year’s “101 Critical Days of Summer” had a news clip called “Room to Live,” in which the reporter discussed mishaps where someone in the vehicle was not wearing the seat belt and had died. The reporter sat in each vehicle and found out that each individual had room to live had they used the seat belt.
There are costly consequences for choosing not to wear a seat belt. In Germany, all seatbelt violators may be fined €30 at the time of the citation. According to AE Pamphlet 190-34 (Drivers Handbook) an individual can receive “a mandatory suspension for seven days” for failing to wear a seat belt on base.
Ramstein Air Base Instruction 31-204 Para. 5.1.21 states “military personnel will lose their driving privileges for failing to wear a seat belt or for failing to require passengers to wear seat belts or restraining devices while riding in a POV.”
Statistics and fines can both be very costly for you and the people around you. If you spot another Airman not wearing a seat belt, give them a friendly reminder to wear it. Who knows, you might just save their life. Buckle up.
