Is the car you drive equipped with safety seat belts? More important, if the car has belts, do you use them?

If the answer to either question is no, you are flirting with danger-danger of being killed or maimed. It has been proven that the use of seat belts can greatly reduce the carnage on the highway, yet a large segment of the driving population-including many fleet drivers-are apathetic about belts. Why?
A recent survey pointes up four possible reasons: People know the value of belts and, paradoxically, that is why they don't use them. The more dangerous a person thinks driving is, the less likely he is to use seat belts. People resist seat belts because of two powerful psychological forces: fear and guilt. And, the most common defense against getting belts is a pretended ignorance of their value.

If this is true-and there is no reason to doubt the findings-then we have a great deal of selling and educating to do on the value of seat belts.

If people know the value of seat belts and don't use them, it can only be because they associate seat belts with serious accidents and speed and they don't feel they will be involved in a serious accident-it will happen to the "other guy." This is sheer nonsense.

 In the first place, no one can predict a serious accident. Given the right circumstances, anyone can be involved in a serious accident. Secondly, speed is a related factor in the use of seat belts. When a car crashes, the driver without a seat belt flies forward at unreduced speed-for a split second still uninjured-until he hits something solid. This is the impact that kills and maims. It is the violence of the reduction in speed, not the speed itself which kills. Thus, even low speed collisions can produce high deceleration rates.

The National Safety Council has issued a report which state that nearly 100 lives were saved last year as the result of seat belts. This year, the Council says, an additional 350 to 400 lives will be saved because of increased usage of belts. Still, this is not enough. The Council points out that if there were universal use of belts it would mean that the death rate from auto accidents would be cut by 5,000 per year!

With this in mind, it is the duty of every fleet operator to equip all of his cars with seat belts. Aside from the humanitarian aspect, it is good business sense. Men in fleet cars are not hired for their driving ability-this is secondary. You wouldn't send a key man out in a car with faulty brakes, so why send him out without seat belts.

Fortunately, most fleets are aware of the value of seat belts. While there are no available statistics, it is almost a certainly that the percentage of fleet cars equipped with seat belts is much higher than the national average of five per cent. As an example, Illinois Bell Telephone Co., has just allocated $85,000 to equip its entire fleet of 5,000 vehicles with seat belts.

However, it is not enough to install belts-drivers must be made to wear them. An unused belt has as much value as no belt at all. While several states have passed legislation requiring the installation of belts, you can't legislate the use of belts. This is where education plays an important role.

Driver education can be accomplished through circulars, posters, notices, sample displays and exhibits. The National Safety Council has much material that is available. In addition, fleets should encourage their employees to use seat belts in their personal cars. This can be done through stocking of belts and selling them directly to employees. A payroll deduction plan is a good method of promoting seat belts. Also, seat belts are worthwhile awards for employee incentive programs. Remember, the only way to guard against danger is to take precaution and one of the greatest precautions in driving is to use seat belts.