Seat Belt Safety | Video

Chris Williams | 10/29/2012

According to the Department of Transportation, in 2011 there were 148 traffic fatalities in North Dakota. Of those 148, 82 people were not wearing a seat belt.

"If you aren`t wearing a seat belt there’s a pretty good chance of ejection, especially with rollovers," said Williston EMT Captain Jon Rasmussen.

In addition, 48 people were partially or fully ejected from the vehicle. Rasmussen says that nine out of ten times if you are thrown from your vehicle it will result in a fatality. So just by strapping in, your chances of living go up dramatically.

"We`ve picked up many people that were wearing their seat belts, their vehicles rolled two or three times. They were still safely secured into the vehicle," Rasmussen added.

Seat belts can also save you from other injuries.

"Slamming into the steering wheel can cause major damage to the chest area or the head, hitting the windshields, the side windshields," added Rasmussen.

If you`re in an accident, Rasmussen says unless the car is smoking or on fire, stay inside and wait for the paramedics to cut you out.

"They want to look straight forward, and if somebody comes up and talks to them, asks them a yes or no question, don`t move their head yes or no like we usually do when we`re talking. Just answer, try to keep your head as straight as it can be," Rasmussen added.

Nationally 84 percent of people wear seat belts, while in North Dakota only 76 percent of people buckle up.

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