Wyoming Leads Nation In Preventable Seatbelt Deaths, Experts Urge Action Now

Summer vacation season may be over, and with many people staying closer to home, the roads will get a break from heavy traffic until the holidays. Anytime you're on the road, it can be dangerous, and an accident can happen faster than it takes to buckle your seat belt.

One false move, one distracted moment, or one sneeze could change your life. If you decided not to spend 2 or 3 seconds buckling your seat belt, that could've been a fatal decision.

I don't talk about it much, but in July 1989, my family was rocked by a wrong seat belt decision. We were on a road trip and stopped to get gas when the driver of a pickup ran a red light. That truck plowed into the side of our car, and because the wrong decision was made, our family lost my brother and cousin, and my mom's life was changed due to her injuries.

Thankfully, she fully recovered and has gone on to live a great life, but who knows how different it would've been if she, my brother, and my cousin had taken 2 or 3 seconds to buckle our seat belts.

Since that day, she does not put her vehicle into drive until everyone is strapped in. It's a lesson I'm sure she wishes she'd learned before July 18, 1989, but since then, that lesson has saved her life many times.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released new figures that show that in 2024, there were 9,700 people killed in vehicle accidents who weren't wearing a seat belt.

On average, the NHTSA says an estimated 48% of the total number of people involved in a vehicle accident weren't strapped in. In Wyoming, that number is even bigger, and as a matter of fact, it's the largest percentage of unbuckled deaths in the country at 61%.

That is a huge number of people who, if they had taken less than 5 seconds to fasten their seat belt, would have had a much higher chance of surviving. Numbers were released saying that 91.3% of people who were in an accident and were buckled up survived.

Yes, they are uncomfortable, and you may only be going a few blocks away, but again, all it takes is one bad decision or false move to cause your family to experience the horrible pain of losing their loved one. Take 2 to 3 seconds out of your day and fasten your seat belt.