Dec 10, 2003 2 min read

There isn’t a thing that we can say that would convince those of you who refuse to buckle up to start wearing seat belts. But maybe what happened to 21-year-old Justin Kingan, 38-year-old Tracy Robertson or19-year-old Amber Ward will change your mind. On an unseasonably warm late autumn Sunday afternoon, Ms. Ward was traveling along Route 119 near the Route 51 interchange when her car hit the median and rolled over twice. She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected through the car’s sunroof. While she suffered multiple injuries, Ms. Ward survived.

Mrs. Robertson and Mr. Kingan weren’t as lucky.

The day before Thanksgiving Mrs. Robertson, a Farmington mother of three and a cook at a popular mountain restaurant, was traveling along Route 40, a trek she must have taken quite often. We’ll never know why she wasn’t buckled but perhaps she thought she knew the road well and was driving just a short distance. But her minivan collided with a school bus. She was ejected and died.

This past Saturday, Mr. Kingan of Smithfield was on his was way to work at Richard’s Chevrolet along Route 119 when his car spun out of control and into the path of a tractor-trailer. His body was thrown from his car.

There is no way to actually know if buckling up would have saved the lives of Mrs. Robertson and Mr. Kingan or would have lessened the injuries that Ms. Ward sustained. Wearing a seat belt is not a 100 percent guarantee that you will survive a horrific crash. But chances are it will. Researchers at the National Transportation Safety Board say that belts are 45 percent effective in preventing deaths in cars and 60 percent effective for sport utility vehicles and other light trucks. Seat belts are also credited with cutting down on major injuries and keeping minor accidents just that.

We extend our sympathies to the Kingan and Robertson families and wish Ms. Ward a speedy and full recovery. Their accidents are heartbreaking.