Thomas E. Petri: “This week is Buckle Up America Week. The legislation before us, House Concurrent Resolution 166, expresses the sense of…”

“This week is Buckle Up America Week. The legislation before us, House Concurrent Resolution 166, expresses the sense of Congress in support of Buckle Up America Week. This national campaign is dedicated to increasing the proper use of seat belts and child safety seats. For the first time in several years, highway fatalities increased from the previous year. Nearly 43,000 people died and over 3 million were injured on our Nation's highways last year. This is the highest number of highway fatalities since 1990. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration research, in the past 26 years safety belts prevented 135,000 and 3.8 million injuries, saving $585 billion in medical and other costs. If all vehicle occupants had used safety belts during that period, nearly 315,000 deaths and 5.2 million injuries could have been prevented and $913 billion in costs saved. We have made significant headway recently. Seat belt use has increased dramatically over the last 20 years. In 1984, seat belt use was only 15 percent. Today, the national average is 75 percent. But more needs to be done. Most vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle crashes in recent years were not wearing seat belts. Even more disturbing is the fact that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 6 and 14.”