Safety belts on seats were first used in aircraft as early as as 1910, and by the 1940's, tests demonstrated that these belts could substantially reduces injuries in car accidents. By the 1970s, many countries passed legislation making it compulsory for motorist to use belts. Ever since, they've proved to be lifesavers. After seat-belt legislation was introduced in the state of Victoria in 1971, the number of people wearing belts rose from around 20% to 80%, while road fatalities dropped by about 25%. In the year after Hong Kong made the wearing of seat belts in the back seat of private cars compulsory in 1996 "(people in the front seat have had to buckle up since), road accidents casualties fell by 17%. Buckling up can reduce fatalities anywhere from 30 to 50 percent, depending on the complexity of the car crash. When you're inside a moving car, both you and your vehicle are moving at the same speed, if the car stops suddenly you will be thrown forward. If you're not restrained, you will hit whatever is in front of you, a seat belt is designed to prevent you from being thrown forward and this can save your life. Most modern seat belts comprise a lap band and a shoulder band, held in place by a single buckle and bolt fastened to the car's body. They can either be "non-retracting" or "automatic-retracting". The first, an older design, doesn't adjust to the wearer's movements and is less convenient. The second which is more common,allows you to move around more freely, but has a mechanism that restrain you when the car hits something or stops suddenly. It's not only front seat passengers who risk life and limb in an accident. If back seat passenger aren't buckled in, they, too,can get thrown about and be killed or seriously injured.
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