Unbuckled Back Seat Passengers Risk Serious Injury, Death

Next time your Uber or Lyft driver starts up the moment you get in the back seat before you’ve had a chance to buckle your seat belt, remember this statistic: in 2015, over 1,000 back-seat passengers were killed in car crashes.

Those statistics included renowned veteran newsman Bob Simon. A report last year by the Governors Highway Safety Association found that back-seat passengers triple their risk of dying in a crash if they don’t buckle up.

We’re approaching the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt in the back seat. The car in which she was riding was involved in a horrific crash in Paris while being chased by paparazzi. Two others in the vehicle, also unrestrained, were killed as well.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, many people assume that they’re safer in the back seat than in the front, so they’re less likely to buckle up — particularly when they’re in a rideshare vehicle. However, the IIHS notes that an unrestrained back-seat passenger can slam forward into the front seat at some 35 miles per hour, also injuring or killing the person in that seat. An IIHS researcher notes that “the laws of physics aren’t suspended just because you’ve moved to the back seat.”

People have reported that they’re less likely to use a seat belt if they aren’t in the front seat if they’re traveling only a short distance. However, accidents can happen on short trips as well.

If you are injured in a crash while not wearing a seat belt, that doesn’t negate your right to take civil legal action against an at-fault driver. However, it may lower the amount of compensation you’re awarded, since you may be found partly responsible for your injuries.

If you’ve been injured or a loved one was killed while a back-seat passenger, don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have the right to take legal action. However, don’t let any driver start on a journey, no matter how short, until you’re safely buckled up.

 

Source: USA Today, “Unbuckled in the back seat? You’ll become a human missile in a crash,” Sophia Tulp, Aug. 03, 2017