Stressing the Importance of Wearing a Seatbelt to Your Teenage Driver

At Silverman, McDonald, & Friedman, we have dedicated our professional lives to serving anyone injured in a car accident caused by the negligence of another driver. We offer skilled, aggressive representation to injured parties who live in and around Seaford, Wilmington, and Newark. If you have been hurt in an accident, schedule a consultation with one of our seasoned attorneys.

When your teenager hits the road for the first time, they may be tempted to be reckless and forgo wearing a seatbelt. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that young adults ages 18 to 24 are less likely to wear seatbelts, and men are less likely to wear them as compared to women. As a concerned parent, you can do your part to help remind your adolescent driver to belt up when driving.

Wearing a seatbelt to decreases the risk of injury or death

Thousands of lives are saved each year because of the prevalence of seatbelts. Car crash fatalities are on the steady decline because of seatbelt laws, better airbags, safer cars and increased safety education. Some of the benefits of seatbelts are:

• Minimizing the amount of contact your body has with the interior of your car during a crash
• Spreading the force of car crash impact over the larger and more absorbent areas of your body can decrease the severity of injuries
• Decreasing the severity of sustained bodily injuries

More than half of teens and adults aged 20-44 years who died in crashes in 2015 were unrestrained at the time of the crash, according to the CDC.

Tips for getting your teen to wear a seatbelt

Here are some ways to help enforce seatbelt wearing in your teen driver, even when you are not in the car:

• Be consistent in wearing your seat belt every time you are in the car with your teen
• Remind your teen driver to wear a seat belt every time he or she picks up the keys
• Speak with your teen about the laws, and hold your teen accountable if he or she is pulled over and has been fined for not wearing a seat belt
• Discuss the risks associated with not wearing seat belts, including serious injuries, paralysis, and death
• If your teen fails to wear a seat belt, consider temporarily revoking his or her driving privileges

At Silverman, McDonald, & Friedman, our car accident lawyers in Wilmington, Seaford, and Newark have worked for years to obtain compensation for injured clients that have been the victim of another driver’s negligence. We proudly serve personal injury clients from throughout the state of Delaware. Please call 302-888-2900 or fill out our contact form now to schedule a free consultation.