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  • Essay / How Seat Belts Help Prevent Deaths in Traffic Accidents

    Table of ContentsThe ProblemSolutionEffectivenessThe ProblemIn America, one of the leading causes of death is motor vehicle accidents. According to numerous studies, seat belts have been shown to be the most effective way to prevent deaths in car accidents. They have been proven to save many lives of people who wear them and can determine the severity of their injuries. This means that if you are not wearing your seat belt, it is likely that the injuries will be much more serious and could result in death. Although many people are aware that not wearing a seat belt reduces their safety and can lead to their or their passengers' death, studies show that one in seven people still do not wear a seat belt while driving . A 2009 study shows that car accidents claimed 33,000 lives and caused 2.2 million injuries in that year alone. 70% of all accidents involve cars and trucks and 53% of accident deaths are caused by people not wearing seat belts. The results show that in 2009, 90 or more people were killed every day due to road accidents. Say no to plagiarism. Get a custom essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySolutionTo address this problem, laws have been passed to help increase the number of people using seat belts and save many more lives. It was also born with the help of technology and education on how and why to use a seat belt. Studies show that using these techniques to try to increase seat belt use worked as it increased from 11% in 1981 to an estimated 85% in 2010. According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), well-enforced and effective seat belt laws will ensure that everyone in a car uses their seat belt every time. The laws that have been put in place are “primary enforcement laws” and “enhanced enforcement laws”. Newtonian mechanics consists of three laws and can be used to describe the effectiveness of seat belts in improving car safety. Newton's first law is the "law of inertia", which states that "an object in motion continues with the same speed and direction unless it is subjected to an unbalanced force." “This law describes how, when a car stops suddenly, the passengers inside are thrown forward while the person's body continues to move in the direction the car was moving.” Additionally, the greater the body mass, the greater the inertia. Newton's second law, which is the law of force and acceleration (defined as F=ma), says that when the forces acting on a body do not balance, then there will be a change in motion . This law describes that when a car hits something like a wall, it stops abruptly. The car effectively goes from the speed it was traveling at to zero as soon as it hits the wall. As for Newton's third law, it states that "for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." This explains the effects of the accident where kinetic energy is transferred as a result of the accident and the effects it produces. During an accident, there is a loss of kinetic energy. Kinetic energy is dissipated and lost as thermal energy when the brakes are applied and sound energy under 47. 1%.