Seconds can save lives

Granted, for those who take their time, it may take about four seconds, but its still roughly about the same amount of time it takes to turn the key and start the car.

People who take the extra couple of seconds to secure their seat belts can reduce their risk of injury or death, not only for themselves, but for others too.

So if it takes less than five seconds and it can save lives, why arent people, more specifically, why arent Airmen buckling up?

It gets a little frustrating, said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Ennis, Air Combat Command Safety Directorates ground safety chief. Its difficult for me to believe that people dont know the benefits of buckling up.

During 2004 in ACC, there were 14 vehicle-related fatalities, and in half of those fatalities, people werent wearing seat belts. So far in 2005, there have been nine four-wheeled vehicle fatalities and one permanent disability. In seven of those cases, seat belts were not worn.

Chief Ennis said maybe some Airmen dont buckle up because they think it just wont happen to them. In an effort to help dispel that belief, he pointed to Memorial Day weekend where ACC lost two Airmen in a single day.

The first accident occurred at about 3 a.m. and involved four Airmen from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. Three of the four Airmen - everyone but the driver - walked away from the accident. The driver was the only one not wearing his seat belt.

Two hours later, two Airmen at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., were involved in a car accident. Again, the driver wasnt wearing his seat belt, and died as a result of the accidentthe passenger was wearing a seatbelt and suffered only minor injuries.

While none of the passengers in these accidents died, the chief stressed that passengers are also at risk of injury or death if they choose not to wear their seat belts.

Chief Ennis pointed to a case earlier this year where an Airman from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, was riding in the back seat of a vehicle and suffered critical injuries in an accident. Because he wasnt wearing his seat belt, the force of the accident threw him from the vehicle. The accident left him in a coma and ultimately resulted in his medical discharge from the Air Force.

If youre not restrained in a vehicle, regardless of whether youre in the front or the back, you become a projectile, Chief Ennis said. Even if you werent ejected from the vehicle, can you imagine the force you would strike the front seat with?

An unrestrained back seat passenger involved in a car crash at 30 miles per hour will fly into the front seats with a force thats 30 to 60 times the persons body weight, according to the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety, a multi-agency partnership in the United Kingdom aimed at reducing the number of traffic casualties.

In fact, a study at the University at Buffalo, N.Y., refers to back-seat passengers as back-seat bullets, that can slam into the driver, increasing not only the passengers, but also the drivers risk of death.

I dont understand why the words not sinking in seat belts do save lives, and I certainly am an advocate, Chief Ennis said.

1.5 seconds thats all.

So why arent Airmen buckling up?