Beware the Unused Seatbelt, Even When Correctly Unused

What the heck kind of headline is Beware the Unused Seatbelt, Even When Correctly Unused? Well, I'll explain that (you knew I would).

See, when you bring your family to a Safe Kids child seat check station and we check 'em to make sure they're all traveling securely in your vehicle, we fill out a form that documents what we're doing. It's a way of making sure that we don't forget anything. Well, question #22 asks if we Discussed Unused Seatbelt Dangers. The question refers to one particular danger that you wouldn't expect, even when you are correctly leaving the belt unused. Honestly, though, there are several dangers related to unused seatbelts. First let's look at the Question 22 issue and then cover the rest.

When you install a child seat in your vehicle you're going to secure it with either the LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children) system or the seatbelt, but not both. If you're using LATCH you'll be attaching those two hooks from the bottom of your child seat to the anchors located in the bight of your vehicle seat. Then, once you've attached the tether, you're ready to load up a kid. The seatbelt, in this case, is correctly used by not being used.

So, here's the potential problem. That unused seatbelt is just left hanging there, and some children have grabbed hold and used it as a plaything. If they pull it all the way out it can lock, just like it is supposed to. When it slurps back up into the retractor it can tangle around the child and potentially strangle them. The fix for this is to simply buckle the belt before installing the child seat. It'll remain securely behind the child seat and out of reach.

That's the issue that Question 22 is meant to address. Here are some other unused seatbelt dangers:

3. There's the smacking hazard posed by those heavy unattached lap buckles and latchplates left sitting on the seat. It's normally in the middle of the back seat of older vehicles. Unattached, they're left to swing wildly at the end of their webbing and smack into whatever is next to them in the crash. Simply attach the belt and pull it tight when not in use. Potential smacker eliminated.

2. If you have a booster seat in the vehicle and you're on your way to pick up its normal occupant, put the seatbelt around it and buckle it in anyway. Yes, even though it is not being used. See, that 20 pound seat will have a relative force of 600 pounds in a 30 MPH crash. You don't want 600 pounds of force hurling at you from the back seat. Buckle the seat in. And,,,,

The #1 unused seatbelt danger is to leave anyone in the vehicle unrestrained. In a crash, an unrestrained person hurls into whatever and wherever; often that means right out of the vehicle. Outside of the vehicle is a VERY bad place to be when a crash is happening. A VERY bad place to be. Plus, remember that 20 pound seat slamming into you with 600 pounds of force (at only 30 MPH)? Now think of a human and their heavy head being hurled at everyone else in the car. Easy solution: everyone is restrained properly all the time. Crashes happen everywhere.

Be safe.