As the investigation continues into yesterdays fatal crash that killed a 15-year-old from Quitman, one fatal fact has been brought home to us again.
The girl was not wearing her seat belt.
The tragic accident has prompted many questions.
But, one of them should not be…how important are seat belts?
The answer is, obviously, belts are very important.
And we’ve know that since racing drivers began wearing them to prevent the kinds of accidents that used to be all too common in the sport.
It is, quite simply, the most important safety device on a vehicle. Despite all the modern airbag technologies, if you’re not belted, you’re in danger.
And as the horrific accident involving the Quitman students teaches us, one of the biggest dangers is being ejected from the vehicle.
This video is of a Ford Motor Company test of an Expedition, a truck roughly the size of the Suburban involved in the accident.
Video both outside and inside the truck shows the incredible forces involved in a rollover.
But this GM test footage shows how simply being belted controls the worst of the crash effects.
The investigation will tell us more about how the crash came about. But one thing we know already.
If everyone had been belted in, the result might be very different.