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Buckle Up for Safety

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is one of the busiest of the year for any and all modes of travel, which also increases the potential for more motor vehicle accidents.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration wants everyone to buckle up when driving because seat belts do save lives and provide the best defense against injury or death in a crash.

According the NHTSA, in 2013 (the latest statistics available), there were 21,132 passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes in the United States. Almost half of those killed – 49 percent – were not wearing seat belts.

Over the 2013 Thanksgiving weekend, 64 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes at night were unbuckled, compared to 48 percent during the day.

If you don’t wear your seat belt, you could be thrown into a rapidly deploying front air bag. The force of the movement could injure or kill you.

When you’re heading over the river or through the woods to Grandma’s house for Thanksgiving, be sure you and all your passengers are buckled up!