The car was racing down a country road at well over 100 mph.
A policeman had been chasing it, but he had long given up.
When the young passengers saw the "T" in the road ahead, they
knew there was no way the driver could avoid a crash.
One of the seventeen-year-old passengers made a last-minute
decision that probably saved her life: "I clicked my seat
belt and covered my face." She heard the sound of cracking
plastic and shattering glass as the car rolled several times
into a frozen farm field.
The driver and one of the other passengers died instantly.
The third passenger died a few hours later in the hospital of
his injuries. All three were not wearing seat belts and were
thus thrown from the car, so they suffered extensive head
injuries.
Meanwhile, the young lady who had clicked on her seat belt at
the last second walked away from the December accident with
bruises on her hands, a few scratches and a black eye.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for
teenagers in the US and in most of the developed world, and
in many cases, experts say, seat belts could have made a
difference. Of the 5,341 killed in crashes in the US in 2001,
two-thirds were not wearing seat belts, according to the most
recent statistics from the US National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
Overall, about three-quarters of Americans say they wear seat
belts, according to NHTSA surveys. Among those aged 16 to 24,
69 percent say they wear their seat belts -- an improvement
over earlier years.
As they grow older, some teens stop wearing their seat belts.
A classroom survey by car maker Volkswagen found that about a
third of high school students called seat belt use
"uncool."
Another 30 percent said belts were uncomfortable or would
wrinkle their clothing, while 20 percent said they thought
seat belts were unnecessary on short trips. And 18 percent
said that a feeling that "nothing will happen to me" stopped
them from buckling up.
In Israel, every passenger must be wearing a seat belt,
including those in the back seat. According to the law, the
driver is liable for a fine, in addition to the rider who is
not buckled up.
