Study after study has shown that seat belts are the best protection from injury in an automobile accident. Consider this sobering statistic: Over 45,000 people were killed in auto accidents in the United States in 2002. According to the World Health Organization, deaths from automobile accidents in the United States is the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 2 and 14. California, with the largest number of drivers in any state, leads the nation with the greatest number of automobile accidents resulting in death.
Many of these deaths were preventable. According to a recent Oklahoma State University analysis, about 50% of these fatal accidents involved the failure to wear a seat belt. In fact, being thrown from a car is the number one cause of death in car crashes.