Thanksgiving Crash Kills 3 Heading to Kentucky:Seatbelts are important for Car Safety
At about 6:00 am on Thanksgiving, November 24, 2022, there was a single-car accident on I-79 in Kanawha County, West Virginia resulting in the death of two adults and one child. Two other children were injured and in serious condition. The vehicle exited the road right for an unknown reason and went into and out of a ditch. It is reported that a lack of use of seatbelts may have contributed to the injuries and death.
SEATBELTS ARE IMPORTANT FOR SAFETY
The lack of seatbelt usage often results in death as the occupants are frequently ejected or thrown into the windshields. Although using a seatbelt cannot guarantee survival of an accident, statistically, use of the seatbelt increases the survivability in an auto accident. Currently, over 600 people have died in Kentucky as a result of motor vehicle accidents in 2022. A grim reminder that we should never take for granted the use of an automobile and give our complete attention to operating the vehicle in a safe manner. Also, wearing a seatbelt is extremely important.
Even though we know that the use of seatbelts increase the survivability in the event of a car or truck accident, we do not even have seatbelts installed in a school bus or city bus. As a result, occupants of buses experience injuries that they would not experience in a car or truck because of the lack of an opportunity to wear a seatbelt. The bus occupant is thrown into the seat in front of them or they are thrown out of the seat entirely when the bus is in an accident. Children in school buses are exposed to injuries unnecessarily because of the opportunity to move around in the bus without restriction of the seatbelt. I suppose the reason for no seatbelts in school buses and city buses is the inconvenience of having to make sure occupants are using the seatbelts.
Lots of people think airbags are important for car safety and they do help in many circumstances, but the use of the seatbelt is more important. In fact, if someone does not use their seatbelt, and the airbag comes out, they are likely to be injured by the airbag. The role of the airbag is to hopefully reduce injuries by preventing our bodies from striking the inside of our vehicles, but the airbag does not help if we are flying around the vehicle because we did not wear our seatbelt.
SINGLE VEHICLE ACCIDENTS ARE UNACCEPTABLE
Vehicles running off the road without the negligence of others causing them to run off the road are simply unacceptable and are the result of driver distraction and inattention. We need to discipline ourselves to not allow any distraction while driving. How many deaths need to occur before we say no to distractions. We need to put our phones away and give 100% of our attention to our driving. If we do that, then the three people that died in the above described accident would still be living. If we do that, then nothing close to 700 people a year will die on Kentucky roadways like they do today. How many more memorials do we need on the roads that we drive that mark places where others have died before we become serious about giving our full attention to our driving.
CONTACT KENTUCKY CAR ACCIDENT LAWYER
These circumstances will require the services of an experienced Kentucky car accident attorney to investigate and locate all available evidence to determine liability and to maximize all benefits available to the victims in this auto accident. Matthew Troutman, a Kentucky car accident lawyer, of the Troutman Law Office has been handling auto accident claims, almost exclusively, since 1986 and has the experience and talent to obtain the best result for the victims in the above car accident. It is very likely that the at fault driver will not have enough insurance to fully compensate the victims in this car accident, and, therefore, it will be important for there to be underinsured motorist benefits available.
If you need legal assistance due to a motor vehicle accident, contact Kentucky car accident attorney Matthew Troutman directly at 859-696-0001 or 502-648-9507 and he will meet with you in the hospital, your home or wherever is convenient for you. He will give you direct access through his cell phone and guide you through the difficult process necessary to obtain the best result possible for you in your car accident claim. To learn more about the Troutman Law Office, click here.