Think Buckling Up Is Too Much of a Hassle!

Remembering when I was younger, I often felt like buckling up was too much of a hassle. I remember feeling invincible at times. Feeling that I didn't need to buckle up because, quite frankly, I was young and strong and took for granted my safety and my life. My, what a shortsighted and naive mindset! The folly of youth! Now, I buckle up every time I drive because my family needs me and my life does matter, just as yours does!

In this article, I am going to do my best to convince you that it is wise to buckle up and the few seconds it takes to buckle up are some of the most important seconds of your life! Virginia doesn't think it is a hassle, either! So much so that Virginia has passed a new seat belt law that took effect on July 1, 2025. On July 1, 2025 House Bill 2475 took effect, which requires all vehicle occupants, regardless of age and where they sit, to buckle up. That means back seat adult passengers, as well.

It only takes 3.7 - 4 seconds to buckle up! Yet, many people don't buckle up and too many lives are taken on our roads because of one poor decision; buckling up is the single most important decision you make when getting into someone's vehicle!! I've actually had to beg one of my passengers to put on a seat belt, even when my car was telling them to buckle up! Their response was she (the car's voice) can't tell me what to do! The audacity and entitlement! Needless to say, that person never rode with me again (LOL).

The seat belt is the simplest, oldest, and most effective life saving technology our cars come equipped with, and yet, people still refuse to use them. There are many new technologies that help with collisions and collision avoidance, such as lane assist, adaptive cruise control, collision avoidance systems, smart airbags, rear cameras, fatigue detection systems, blind spot detection, and the list goes on and on, but none of these are as effective as simply putting on a safety belt. And I reiterate, it only takes 3.7- 4 seconds to strap a seat belt around your torso!

In 2020, 18 year old Christopher King who had just graduated from high school took a fateful ride with friends. Moments into their ride, the vehicle Christopher and his friends were in, was involved in a collision. The driver and all of the passengers survived except one, Christopher King, who wasn't wearing a seat belt! Wow, a young person who had his whole future ahead him, needlessly died that day!

Christopher's mom, Christy King, tirelessly advocated for 5 years to get Virginia state lawmakers to pass a more stringent seat belt law to help save lives. Christy did not want anyone else, senselessly, losing a child like she had. A young man who had so much life and promise ahead of him!

To quote Christy, "We lost our sweet Christopher on July 4, 2020, and it's a special time in our lives right now as we get to remember him - but also recognize this year as the moment when something meaningful happened in his name. The assumption that the back seat is safer without a seat belt, or that a short drive doesn't warrant one, has proven untrue." Christy is truly grief stricken over losing her son that day, but she is using the memory of his life to save others.

According to DMV's Highway Safety Office, 67% of back seat passengers killed in crashes in 2024, were unbuckled! In addition, a back seat passenger who is unbuckled not only poses a threat to themselves but to front seat passengers. An unbuckled back seat passenger becomes a projectile in an collision, either getting thrown from the car or thrown into front seat passengers or both. Back seat passengers can be launched into front seat passengers making front seat passengers' injuries worse or even fatal!

Moral of the story, 3.7-4 seconds is not a hassle but a duty and it is now law in Virginia. If you are a back seat rider and you refuse to buckle up, you can be fined $25. Remember, if you are the driver, it is your responsibility to make sure all of your passengers are properly wearing their seat belt! The oldest, simplest and most effective technology in a car for saving lives is not just a choice in Virginia, It Is The Law! Buckle Up and Arrive Alive!!!