Lots of reasons to buckle up ~ May 17, 2006

David Heiller

I became a firm believer in seat belt use in 1980.

My sister-in-law was on her way home to Brooklyn Center for Easter break that year. She was sitting in the front seat between two other people.

The weather was terrible that day thanks to a spring snowstorm. As they traveled along Highway 316 south of Hastings, an oncoming vehicle lost control and hit them head on.

My sister-in-law went through the windshield. She did not die, but she suffered a closed head injury. She was in a coma for about a month, then spent years of physical therapy and cognitive rehabilitation. She has worked hard to make a good life for herself, but her life was changed forever that day.

She didn’t have a seat belt on. Very likely she would have been spared serious injury had she been wearing one.

There are a lot of stories out there like that. When we read them, we don’t really absorb them and internalize them. But since that, I have been a consistent seat belt wearer,

1954 Chevy

That certainly wasn’t the case growing up. (I know I speak for a lot of people in my generation on that subject.) We had a 1954 Chevy, which fit all eight kids. My sister Kathy said we would put two stools in the back seat to accommodate everyone on the occasions that we all piled inside, like a trip to see my uncle in St. Paul. I don’t remember that—I was probably sitting on someone’s lap.

I can still remember the first car we had with seat belts, a 1964 Chevrolet. They were a novelty, and that was about it.

1964 Chevy

Slowly the word spread that seat belts saved lives. The smart people figured why not, and the dumb ones like me had to be shown first hand.

There’s another reason to wear your seat belt right now. Law enforcement officers in four local counties, including Houston, are issuing tickets to violators of the seat belt law. It’s part of a cam­paign called “Bluff Country Buckle-Up.” From now to June 4, police deputies and state troopers will be issuing tickets and not warnings if they catch you without your seat belt on.

It’s happening. If you don’t believe me, check out the sheriff and police logs. I do that as part of my job and I saw numerous citations last week. That’s something I rarely see.

A press packet from the program’s coordinator, Brenda Leigh Pohlman, has some grim facts to motivate us. “In 2004, more than half of 461 vehicle occupant fatalities in Minnesota were unbelted: Pohlman wrote. “From 2000-2004 in Winona County, 46 people died and 20 were unbelted victims. Those same years, Fillmore County had a total of 12 traffic fatalities, five of which were unbelted occupants, Out of Houston County’s 16 deaths during that five-year span, seven were unbelted.”

There were a lot more statistics, but if you are like me, you mind will numb up with about one more sentence.

The bottom line is this: Wear your seat belt. It will increase the likelihood of you surviving a bad car crash.

Editor’s note: In Minnesota, failure to wear your seat belt is now a Primary Offense, meaning that you can be ticketed for not wearing one. There are enforced seat belt laws in all states except for New Hampshire.