Safety Belt Stories

A lot of people are walking around Nebraska with no injuries in their past because they were wearing their safety belt at the right time. While all of these people would not have been killed, they were all in crashes and at least 1 or 2 “should have been dead” according to the State Troopers who assisted them. It’s unknown what kind of injuries may have resulted, because the injuries were avoided by the use of safety belts.

Unfortunately, there are stories of those who didn't make it as well.

Here are some of the stories:

traveling from Kearney to Hastings for a Doctor's appt. with a 1 month old in a Chicco infant seat. The SUV went off the edge of the road and rolled landing on its roof. The driver was suspended by the seat belt and the baby was crying in the back seat. One bruise to the baby's tummy but no other injuries.
I walked away from this (rollover) a little shaken, a little sore, a lot bummed out but alive because I had my seatbelt on...
My car crash happened in mid September on a Friday night. I was driving from my friends house to go get ice cream. We were following another car with five other people in it. Two cars ahead of them a ferret crossed the road; the car came to a complete stop in the middle of the road. The car behind hit them. And the car I was following swerved out of the way and I hit the car in front of it. One of the police officers said that if we had been in a smaller car or hadn't had our seatbelts on that we could have died.
It happened on the highway by my house. I wasn't involved in the accident, my brother was. He wasn't wearing his seatbelt because his dad always told him that more people die wearing it. He started going into the ditch, overcorrected, and rolled maybe 3 or 4 times before his truck came to a stop. he was ejected from the car out the driver side door. he wasn't found until 3:00 in the morning... He suffered major head trama, and was in a coma for a week before they flew him out. He did live but hes now paralyzed on his left side. If my brother wouldve been wearing his seat belt he would still be my same old brother. "
West bound I-80, between Des Moines and Omaha; Christmas Eve, December 24, 2009. Stephen just returned that morning from a tour of duty in Iraq. He landed in Des Moines that morning (Air Base in Des Moines) and was anxious to make it home to Bellevue to celebrate Christmas with his family. The roads were wet in Des Moines but 50 miles west the roads were glazed over with ice. He lost control of his vehicle(pick-up truck) and was headed for a ditch. He covered his eyes and face preparing for a roll-over. Witnesses stated that the vehicle may have rolled over two or three times. When the vehicle stopped, Stephen was hanging upside down secured by his safety belt. If not for his belt (and his nagging mother who always reminds him to buckle-up) he would not be here today. Damage to the vehicle is expected to be a total loss. His overseas duty certainly was dangerous in many ways, but he experienced the greatest threat to his life while driving the last 50 miles to return home. Thankfully, we celebrated Christmas in our usual style. If not for his safety belt, this may have been the last Christmas our family would have celebrated."

Submitted by Rose White (Stephen\'s mother) Traffic Safety Director, AAA Nebraska ------------
We were going 5 miles an hour getting ready to turn. We were suddenly hit from behind by a 19-year-old kid who was going at least 40 miles an hour. I don’t know if he was on the phone or just not paying attention or what. There were 4 people in our vehicle and we were all belted and all walked away.”
I was in a crash once and was fortunately wearing my belt. So I taught my children to wear their belts, and just a couple of weeks ago, my son’s life was definitely saved by wearing his belt. His vehicle rolled a few times and I’m so glad I taught him to always buckle up.”
It’s a good thing I was wearing my belt when I hit the deer. The deer was not OK, but I was.”
I was going 70 miles an hour, and was hit from behind by someone going at least 120 miles an hour. I didn’t even see him coming, and he was drunk. The State Trooper said I was lucky I was belted.”
I wasn’t paying attention, and I went through a red light.”
I hit ice, and then slid into a wall.”
I had a bruise across my chest for a month—but it would have been a lot worse without a belt.”
It wasn’t really our fault. Well, maybe we ran the red light but the other guy had to be going through the intersection before his light turned green or we wouldn’t have hit him.”
The car was totaled. We hit an ice spot and crashed the car, but we walked away.”
The safety belt worked really well — I was locked in place. The car was sitting still and I got hit from the side. For some reason, the side airbags didn’t inflate, but the safety belt worked. The side of the car was pushed in and my ribs were sore, but I was fine. You’re stupid not to wear a safety belt.”
I slowed down and got over into the clear left lane. What I didn't know was the left lane was covered in motor oil. The contents of a previous car's crankcase. I hit the oil slick at 40 mph. I lost control and I hit the dividing median concrete barrier. As a result my 4runner was tipped over onto the driver's side with me in it.
My husband was driving his combination tractor trailer--we believe his blood suger caused him to pass out at the wheel and he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle jack-knifed, twisted and fell over onto the passenger\'s side, sliding about 50 feet before coming to a stop in the buffer zone (dirt/grass area) of the interstate.
I started wearing my belt when 2 friends of mine in high school were in the same crash. The one wearing the belt walked away, but the one who wasn't wearing a belt was in a coma for awhile, and hasn't been quite right since then.
My 2 sisters were in a crash together before there were belts. One died. The other has had health problems ever since.
I used to help the State Patrol respond to crashes before there were belts. The people were always dead.
They were in a single cab Chevy Truck and rolled because of a ridge of gravel on a gravel road. Because of the child infant seat and Jake's seat belt they will both be okay. Zach was okay right away except for 2 scratches on his hand. Jake has a cracked vertebra in his lower back that will heal with about 10 weeks of wearing a brace.
If I'd been wearing a seatbelt, I wouldn't have a broken nose."

Share your Safety Belt Story

If you have story to share, send in your picture and the story of your crash. Share the story of how your belt made a difference to you. We’re glad you were belted!