One Killed in Motor Vehicle Crash in Columbia, South Carolina

COLUMBIA, SC- Wistv.com writes that a crash in northeast Columbia cost one person his life over the weekend. The victim, identified as a 68-year-old man, died when his vehicle ran off of Koon Store Road and collided with a tree. The incident occurred in the early evening. Police are not sure what caused the driver to lose control of his vehicle. Reports indicate that the victim did not have a seatbelt on at the time of the incident. *

In South Carolina, police can pull a driver over for failing to use his or her seatbelt. This is because the state instituted a primary enforcement seatbelt law in 2005. Seatbelts are one of the best ways for drivers and vehicle occupants to reduce their risk of being injured or killed in a car crash. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes that seatbelts lower the chances of being killed or severely injured in the car crash by about 50 percent. In 2016, 15,000 people’s lives were saved because they took the time to buckle up. While airbags are an effective life-saving feature in vehicles, they cannot work as a substitute for a seatbelt. Airbags are designed to work in conjunction with seatbelts, which keep occupants where they need to be in order for the airbags to be effective. 

Statistics indicate that men are less likely to use their seatbelts than are women, and that younger adults are less likely to buckle up than are older adults. People in rural areas have lower rates of seatbelt use than people who live near or in cities. Seatbelt laws are shown to be effective in increasing seatbelt use in a population. 

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.wistv.com/2020/02/03/coroner-identifies-person-killed-single-car-crash-northeast-columbia/ and https://scdps.sc.gov/buckleupsc and https://scdps.sc.gov/buckleupsc/safety_belt_law and https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/facts.html