Seconds can save lives Published July 8, 2005 By Senior Airman Amy Robinson Air Combat Command Public Affairs LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) -- 1.5 seconds is all it takes. Granted, for those who take their time, it may take about four seconds, but it is still roughly about the same amount of time it takes to turn the key and start the car.People who take the extra couple of seconds to secure their seat belts can reduce their risk of injury or death, not only for themselves, but for others too.So if it takes less than five seconds and it can save lives, why aren't Airmen buckling up?"It gets a little frustrating," said Chief Master Sgt. Kevin Ennis, Air Combat Command safety directorate's ground safety chief. "It's difficult for me to believe that people don't know the benefits of buckling up."During 2004, there were 14 vehicle-related fatalities within ACC, and in half of those fatalities, people were not wearing seat belts. So far in 2005, there have been nine four-wheeled vehicle fatalities and one permanent disability. In seven of those cases, seat belts were not worn.Chief Ennis said maybe some Airmen do not buckle up because they think it just will not happen to them. In an effort to help dispel that belief, he pointed to Memorial Day weekend where ACC lost two Airmen in a single day.The first accident occurred at about 3 a.m. and involved four Airmen from Shaw Air Force Base, S.C. Three of the four Airmen -- everyone but the driver -- walked away from the accident. The driver was the only one not wearing his seat belt.Two hours later, two Airmen at Seymour Johnson AFB, N.C., were involved in a car accident. Again, the driver was not wearing his seat belt and died as a result of the accident. The passenger was wearing one and suffered only minor injuries.While none of the passengers in these accidents died, the chief stressed that passengers are also at risk of injury or death if they choose not to wear their seat belts.Chief Ennis referred to a case earlier this year where an Airman from Mountain Home AFB, Idaho, was riding in the back seat of a vehicle and suffered critical injuries in an accident. Because he was not wearing his seat belt, the force of the accident threw him from the vehicle. The accident left him in a coma and ultimately he was medically discharged from the Air Force."If you're not restrained in a vehicle, regardless of whether you're in the front or the back, you become a projectile," Chief Ennis said. "Even if you weren't ejected from the vehicle, can you imagine the force you would strike the front seat with?"An unrestrained back-seat passenger involved in a car crash at 30 mph will fly into the front seats with a force that is 30 to 60 times the person's body weight, according to the Lancashire Partnership for Road Safety, a multiagency partnership in the United Kingdom aimed at reducing the number of traffic casualties. In fact, a study at the University at Buffalo, N.Y., refers to back-seat passengers as "back-seat bullets," that can slam into the driver, increasing not only the passengers’, but also the driver's risk of death."I don't understand why the word's not sinking in -- seat belts do save lives, and I certainly am an advocate," Chief Ennis said. 1.5 seconds – that is all.So why aren't Airmen buckling up? (Courtesy of ACC News Service)