Each year, motor vehicle accidents claim the lives of many drivers and passengers. One way to reduce the risk of harm is to wear your safety belt. Many of these fatalities could have been avoided by buckling up. Another piece of standard safety equipment in use since the late 1980s is the air bag. Air bags are a supplement to the safety belt, not a substitute.
Air bags offer no protection during side, rear or rollover crashes.
Air bags are only deployed in frontal crashes. Perhaps the most important reason safety belts are so effective is that they prevent drivers and passengers from being thrown from the car in an accident. According to research, it is 25 times more likely that drivers or passengers will be killed or injured if ejected from a car during an accident. Safety belts also help to prevent your body from being thrown about while inside the car. Wearing a safety belt can prevent bumps, bruises, cuts and sprains if an accident occurs.