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Greetings!
At the SuperBowl party I went to, I sat by someone who wanted to know where I work. From experience, I know that a job promoting safety belts always elicits some good stories. She told me about how her dad had safety belts installed in their car in the days before they were standard equipment. The interesting thing was that the belt was a single strip of webbing that went all the way across the bench seat, and it was meant to hold in however many people were seated on that seat. This picture is from a 1953 Popular Science magazine. click here to read the article
Deb says: "I would say it was  mid 1950s. My dad was a physician (psychiatrist, to be exact). I'm not sure why he wanted seat belts, except that he was always interested in the newest and latest things. I can't really remember whether it was front or back seat or both. As I remember, the seat belts didn't retract, and because they were so long, they would get tangled or it would be hard to locate the ends to clip them."
Of course, we know now that putting multiple people in one belt is very dangerous. And these days, we expect not only an individual lap belt for each seating position, but also a shoulder belt. Typically the safety belt is what defines an individual seating position. In the case of a few Ford vehicles, there's actually an air bag that resides within the shoulder belt in the backseat as well. We're interested in your safety belt stories--share with us! Enter your stories on our website or email us at cidri@safenebraska.org. Cherie Ferber |
| Businesses! Increase Seatbelt Use of Service Vehicle Drivers | | | Click on Using Haptic Feedback to Increase Seat Belt Use of Service Vehicle Drivers
at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) site to learn about a new way to remind drivers to remember to fasten their safety belt.
In this January, 2011 report on a study completed in 2008 through 2009, drivers received feedback from their vehicle whenever they exceeded a preset speed limit without buckling up. The feedback, rather than the familiar dinging or beeping sound we all know,was back force from the accelerator pedal. Once the safety belt was buckled, the back pressure disappeared.
The pedal resistance did not occur during short trips such as moving the vehicle or backing up to a loading dock. However, because drivers were not willing to exert the effort to counteract the back force for long trips at regular speeds, they buckled up.
Great results! "The outcome of the treatment resulted in an immediate sustained increase in seat belt use to 100%". Plus, the participants' feedback was "overwhelmingly positive". and "many drivers said they would accept it if it were available for all vehicles..."
This idea obviously works and would make a huge difference in the buckling habits of drivers of company vehicles. The trickle-down effect would be the resulting cost savings for companies experiencing crashes of their company vehicles.
In the meantime before those kinds of systems can be adopted, policies requiring belt use by service vehicle drivers are needed. Please ask your Human Resources (HR) department to include such a policy in their policy manual.
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New Child Safety Seat Fitting Station
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State Patrol Troop A from Omaha has received a permanent Child Seat fitting station. The new fitting station was provided by AAA Nebraska. click here for the Nebraska State Patrol website
While child safety seats are very effective in reducing injuries and fatalities of children in crashes, too often the seats have been installed incorrectly, which may compromise their effectiveness. A trip to the fitting station eliminates that concern. "The numbers are pretty compelling," said Colonel Bryan Tuma, Superintendent of the Nebraska State Patrol. "Properly installed and used car seats can and do save lives. We encourage parents and care-givers to take the time to ensure their child's safety by taking advantage of the services offered at our new fitting station."
The permanent fitting station is located at the Troop A-Omaha Headquarters, 4411 S. 108th Street. Fittings are available by appointment Monday-Friday, during regular business hours 8:00-4:00. In the Omaha area. Call (402) 331-3333 to make an appointment.
Of course, it makes no sense for an adult to carefully buckle children into their car-seats and then not use their own safety belt.
Reasons to put on your safety belt after buckling your children in their seat include:
- You need to model safety behavior to your children
- Unbuckled, you can become a dangerous projectile in the event of a crash and you could hurt or kill your child
- Your health and life are important to your child as they grow! Take care of yourself!
Thanks for all you do to ensure that all Nebraskans buckle up!
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The "Click It Chronicle," our Click It Campaign e-letter, published whenever there is news, is available to all those interested in increasing safety belt usage. Please share this information freely. Take the information, copy to friends, businesses and organizations with the same concerns. Using the information provided will help reduce the needless fatalities and injuries on our highways and the associated costs. To subscribe to this e-letter, join the coalition, or be removed from the list, contact the Click It Team at cidri@safenebraska.org. |
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