10 Reasons Teens Don’t Wear Seat Belts (When They’re Not With You!)

Seat belts separate car accidents from fatal car accidents. Statistics show they save lives, so why don’t all teens use them every time they get in the car?

Here are the top 10 excuses teens use to explain why they aren’t wearing a seatbelt:

1. I forgot. Talking and texting with friends are distractions that can make teens forget to fasten their seat belts. The pressure of a pack on your lap can make them feel like they are buckled up. Fastening their seat belts should be part of the starting routine, so they do it without thinking every time they get in the car.

2. There are not enough seat belts for everyone. If 6 children want to go and there are only 5 seat belts, they need another vehicle. Passengers without a seatbelt are a danger to everyone else in the car. If the car stops suddenly, passengers without a seatbelt turn into pinballs that bounce and crash into everyone else. They can die and kill another person.

3. I don’t want to be beheaded! This is one of those ridiculous urban legends that someone made up and now people repeat as true. There have been extremely rare cases where cars have crashed into obstacles with such force that bodies inside have been cut by seat belts. In those cases, the passengers could not have survived the accident anyway. And they are extremely, extremely rare. Seat belts save lives. Period.

4. So they can escape if the car goes off the road and falls into a river. First, cars rarely go off the road and into the water. Second, if this happened, the seat belt would keep them in their seat so they wouldn’t be knocked unconscious when the vehicle hit the water. At least with the seatbelt, they’d have a good chance of getting out alive.

5. Just walking down the block. Life is unpredictable. Most crashes occur close to home.

6. The seat belt is uncomfortable. Make sure they are wearing it correctly so that it is not crossed on your neck. Beyond that, it’s worth a little discomfort to save your life.

7. No one else uses one. If other people in the car are not buckled up, they should be told to buckle up or get out of the car. Driving in a car with passengers without a seat belt is very dangerous.

8. I don’t want to destroy your clothes. Your clothes will not be ruined with a seat belt. If it is so important to maintain impeccable special attire, they should change their clothes at the destination.

9. There are no seat belts in the rear of the truck. No one should ride in the back of a truck. It is too dangerous and illegal in most places.

10. They want to sleep. It is dangerous to recline car seats too far, so they must remain fairly upright with the seat belts in place. (Face it, most teens could sleep through a tornado anyway.)

There is no good excuse for not wearing a seat belt. Buckle up should be a habit that everyone does without thinking. Talk to your teen about all the possible excuses he may have and make sure he knows that none of them are okay.

You will find great videos to reinforce your seat belt lesson at http://TeensLearnToDrive.com