Buckle Up for Safety and Protect Your Rights in Tennessee Car Crashes

By Thomas Greer | January 25, 2015

Are you wearing a seat belt every time you get into your car? If not, you may be looking for legal problems if you are in an accident. As Memphis car crash lawyers, we urge you to buckle up, not just for safety, but to protect your legal rights in case of an accident.

One proven way to reduce the injuries and even deaths in Tennessee car crashes is to wear a seat belt. The facts are too familiar:

  • Approximately 40,000 people die each year in car accidents.
  • Road accidents are the leading cause of death in the United States for all people under the age of 35.
  • Seat belts can save lives in about 50% of these accidents.
  • Hitting a steering wheel, dashboard or windshield at 30 mph can be compared to falling from a three-story building.

Wearing a seat belt is obviously the right choice for all drivers and their passengers. So, how many of us are actually buckling up these days? According to the 2010 National Occupant Protection Use Survey, conducted by the NHTSA:

  • Seat belt use has steadily increased since 1994, when statistics were first collected.
  • There is a corresponding decline in unrestrained passenger deaths.
  • Daytime use of seat belts increased from 83% in 2009 to 85% in 2010.
  • Seat belt use is higher in states that have laws allowing police to pull over vehicles with unrestrained occupants. Tennessee is one of these “primary enforcement” states.
  • Rural areas also saw an increase in seat belt use from 81% in 2009 to 83% in 2010.
  • 91% of people traveling on expressways buckled up in 2010, an increase from 89% in 2009.

While these numbers are encouraging, they also indicate that somewhere between 9 – 15% of Americans are still not buckling up. If you are one of them, you should consider the legal repercussions of your decision.

If you are in a serious crash caused by someone else, you could have a legal claim. However, if you were not wearing a seat belt, it can be argued that your injuries were your own fault. This can greatly reduce the damages you can collect, even if the other driver was completely at fault.

If you have been in a serious Tennessee car accident, find out more about how seat belt laws can affect your chances in court, by contacting the Memphis car crash lawyers at Bailey & Greer. Call our toll free number at 901-680-9777 or fill out the confidential contact form on this page for a fast and free case consultation.

Posted in Auto Accidents, Library