• An unbelted occupant of a 30-mph car crash hits the windshield or other interior surfaces with the same impact as a fall from a three-story building.
• People without seat belts have been killed at speeds as low as 12 mph.
• The effectiveness of an air bag system drops 40 percent when a seat belt is not used.
• Nationally, traffic crashes kill about five people every hour and, in Missouri, one person every nine hours.
• Seat belts would have saved the lives of more than half the car passengers killed each year.
• A driver's chance of being killed in a traffic crash if not wearing a seat belt is 13 times greater than that of a driver who is buckled up.

• A rear-facing infant seat should not be used in a front passenger seat equipped with an air bag. The back of the rear-facing safety seat is located very close to the dashboard, where the air bag is housed. The air bag could hit the back of the safety seat very hard, and this could seriously injure the baby's head and brain.
• The worst possible place for a child to ride is in the arms of an adult. An unrestrained adult can literally crush a child against the dashboard.
• A child safety seat holds onto your child in a crash and keeps the child from hitting dangerous objects or from being thrown out of the vehicle.
• All 50 states and the District of Columbia have child passenger protection laws.
• The safest place for a child under 12 years of age to be secured is in the rear seat.

• A seat belt can only protect you if it's used — and used properly.
• Provide enough seat belts for each person traveling in your vehicle. Each person needs his/her own seat belt. Make sure all seat belts are working properly.
• Show you care. Ask passengers in the front and rear seats to use their seat belts. Most people will gladly buckle up if the driver asks them to.
• Don't start your car until all seat belts are fastened.
• Adjust your seat belt so it fits snugly over your hip bones. It should cross your lap low on the hips, not high across your stomach.
• A shoulder belt should go over your shoulder and across your body diagonally. It should never be worn under your arm.

Safety Seats

Infant seats are designed for children up to 20 pounds and place the infant facing rearward in a semi-reclined position.

Convertible seats are designed for children up to 40 pounds. They recline and face rearward in infant position, and convert to sit upright and face forward for toddler position.

Booster seats are designed for children who have outgrown other safety seats and can be used with an adult lap and shoulder belt.

Lap/Shoulder belts are designed for children age eight or older or 70 pounds or more. Make sure the lap belt stays low and snug across the hips without riding up over the stomach, and the shoulder belt does not cross the face or front of the neck.

Seat Belts

Who must be secured?

• Everyone riding in the front seat in automobiles and trucks with a licensed gross weight of less than 12,000 lbs. must wear seatbelts.
• Children ages four through 15 riding in any seat position of any vehicle must wear seat belts.
• Persons less than 18 years of age operating or riding in trucks (regardless of gross weight for which licensed) must wear seatbelts.

• It is the driver's responsibility to ensure passengers under the age of 16 are safely buckled up. Those 16 and over are responsible for themselves.
• Violators may be subject to a fine and court costs for not properly using seat belts.

• Medical — for a physical condition that prevents use of a seat belt.
• Occupants of autos manufactured prior to 1968.
• Postal carriers delivering mail from a vehicle.
• Vehicles designed to carry more than 10 people, trucks, and cycles.
• Vehicles engaged in agricultural work-related activities.

Who must be secured in a child safety seat?

• The law requires children under age four riding in any type vehicle be secured in an approved child safety seat. To make sure the child safety seat meets Federal Safety Standard No. 213, check to see that it was manufactured after January 1981 and says "dynamically tested" on the label.

• It is the driver's responsibility to ensure the safety of these children; there is a fine and court costs for those who do not comply. Failure to comply, however, also may result in criminal charges if injury is sustained by the child or if the manner in which the vehicle is being driven shows disregard for the child's safety.

• The law does not apply to public carriers for hire.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol can graphically demonstrate the importance of wearing seat belts to your class or group with its Rollover Simulator. Rollover Simulators are now stationed throughout the state. In the demonstration, two life-size dummies, an adult and a child, are placed in the truck cab of the Simulator without seat belts or a child safety seat. The cab is then mechanically rotated as if it was involved in a traffic crash throwing the dummies out of the Simulator. The dummies are then returned to the cab and secured with the appropriate safety restraints. Again the Simulator is rotated, with the dummies remaining safely in the cab.

The Rollover Simulators were funded through a grant from the Missouri Division of Highway Safety. The vehicles were donated by the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Corporation.

This brochure cannot provide all the information available on seat belt or child restraint use. If you would like additional information about seat belts and/or child safety restraints or would like to schedule a program in which a Rollover Simulator is demonstrated, please contact the Public Information and Education Officer in your nearest Troop Headquarters or contact the Public Information and Education Division in Jefferson City at (573) 526-6115.