ERIE, PA, May 23, 2012 — Regular readers of our Pennsylvania car accident law blog know that we are ardent supporters of seat belt use. In fact, resolving to use seatbelts all the time is perhaps the only New Year’s Eve resolution I’ve ever kept for more than a few months and it came only months after I first started my work as an Erie injury attorney. So, we’re happy to announce that Erie region law enforcement is increasing enforcement this week as part of an effort to increase awareness of seat belt safety rules.
The Pennsylvania “Click it or Ticket” campaign runs through June 10, 2012 and Pennsylvania State Troopers and local police will be making a special effort to enforce traffic laws that require both driver and passengers to use their seat belts.
Wearing a seatbelt is perhaps the easiest thing you can to do to avoid serious injury in an Erie car accident. Pensylvania’s Department of Transportation Secretary indicated that use of a seatbelt can increase your chance of surviving a car crash by up to sixty percent.
Statistically, deaths involving people not using their seatbelts decreased in Pennsylvania last year to 509 from 524 the previous year. However, the total number of Pennsylvania auto crashes involving people who were not using their seatbelts increased. In 2011 there were 16,298 such car crashes while in 2012 there were 15,442. So, there’s still some work to do on raising public awareness of the importance of seatbelts.
The Pennsylvania car accident lawyers at Purchase, George & Murphey, P.C. are pleased to pass on the good word. You should wear your seatbelt whenever you drive and you should ensure that all passengers wear the seatbelts as well.
Safe travels!