Drivers and Passengers Risk Lives By Not Wearing Seatbelts

In the United States, motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those who are between the ages of 5 to 34 years old. And unfortunately, West Palm Beach drivers and passengers are much more likely to be injured or killed in a crash if they are not wearing a seatbelt. While these victims should seek help from an experienced auto accident attorney who can help file a lawsuit for negligence if the accident is caused by another driver, financial recovery may be reduced if the victim is found to have contributed to his or her injuries by not wearing a seatbelt.

Seatbelt Use And Car Crash Injuries And Deaths

The statistics regarding unrestrained occupants of motor vehicles in automobile accidents are extremely grim. Every year, most drivers and passengers killed in crashes are not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Seatbelts keep occupants from being tossed around the inside of the car during a car crash and also help prevent them from being ejected from the vehicle. According to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people not wearing seat belts are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. This is critical because over 75 percent of people who are ejected during a crash die from their injuries.

Florida Seat Belt Law

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) requires the use of a seatbelt if a person (1) is the driver of the vehicle; (2) is a front seat passenger of any age; or (3) is under 18 years old. However, seatbelt use is not required if the person has a medical condition that prevents the use of a seatbelt due to safety hazards.

Florida law allows for primary enforcement of the state’sseatbelt law. This means that police can pull over a vehicle and issue tickets solely because the driver, front seat passenger, or other passengers under 18 years old are not wearing a safety belt restraint. The maximum base fine for a first offense is $30 plus any associated costs.

Enforcement Of Restraint Law Varies From Department To Department

A recentnews investigation of Florida’s seatbelt law showed uneven enforcement of the provisions.

Investigators analyzed seatbelt violations in Palm Beach County and along the Treasure Coast. They found that about 1 out of every 8 seatbelt tickets issued was because the unrestrained person was a child (that is, someone under 18 years old).

However, the investigation also showed that seatbelt enforcement really varied from one department to another. For example, in Greenacres, a small city of just 6 square miles, the Greenacres Police Department places an emphasis on enforcement of the law and it issued 750 tickets to drivers breaking the child seatbelt laws, whereas in the City of West Palm Beach (which is 10 times larger than Greenacres), police issued only 235 tickets.

While no one likes to receive a ticket, the purpose of the increased enforcement is to encourage motorists to make sure that everyone in their vehicle is buckled up.

Failure To Buckle Up May Reduce Claims For Damages

Every accident case has to be evaluated on its own merits. But, under Florida law, a person responsible for causing a car accident may challenge an injured person’s claim for damages by raising the “seatbelt defense.” Under the seatbelt defense, an at-fault party can try to argue that the injured person would not have sustained the degree of injuries he or she did if a seatbelt had been worn.

However, an injured person should not avoid seeking legal help merely because he or she was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident. In order to claim the defense, the at-fault party must first prove that there was “an available and fully operational seatbelt” and that it was in fact not worn by the injured person. Even if the at-fault party can show this, an experienced West Palm Beach auto accident attorney may be able to show that the injuries would have been sustained regardless of the use of a safety belt. Thus, because of their complexity, it is important to seek legal help in a seatbelt accident-related case.

West Palm Beach Automobile Accident Attorneys

At Scott J. Sternberg & Associates, P.A., our West Palm Beach and Boca Raton occupant ejection attorneys have extensive experience dealing with catastrophic crashes that have shattered the lives of innocent victims and their families. With our experienced and successful aid, you can prove the fault of those who caused your crash and are responsible for your losses. To learn more, call our office at (561) 419-9321.