3.2 Safety Restraint Systems (Continued)

Lap belts were the original restraint devices available in the car market. At first lap belts were optional equipment. Later, as their effectiveness was proven, they became standard for front seat passengers and the driver. Almost all new cars manufactured now have both lap and shoulder belts in both the front and rear seats.

• The lap belt should be fastened snuggly across the hips. It will help keep you behind the steering wheel and in control of your car if you have to brake hard or swerve sharply.

A shoulder safety belt is used in combination with the lap belt to provide added protection. These belts are usually integrated with the lap belt and should be strapped across your shoulder. Properly wearing your shoulder belt lessens the chance that you or your passenger will get thrown into the dashboard, through the windshield, or out of an open door.

A shoulder belt should not be adjusted tightly -- you should be able to put your fist between the belt and your chest.

Combination lap and shoulder safety belts became standard equipment in new cars beginning in 1968. Some cars have ignition interlock systems, which prevents the car's ignition from starting if the front seat passengers are not buckled up, and all cars manufactured since 1972 have a safety belt warning light and buzzer which remind drivers to buckle up. Make sure you listen.

• Of all of the persons killed in passenger cars, trucks, and buses in the 1990s, 73% were not wearing seatbelts.
• Statistics show that the chances of being killed in an accident are almost 13 times greater if you are not wearing your seat belt.

Head restraints are padded devices on the back of the front seats. These devices help prevent whiplash injuries to the driver and the front passenger if another car bumps into your car from the rear.

If you are driving in a car with an adjustable head restraint, make sure that it is high enough to make contact with the back of your head, not with the base of your skull. Otherwise serious injury may result in case of a collision.

Air bags have become common for both the driver and front seat passenger, and are required in new car models. These devices open rapidly in the event of a collision, thereby radically minimizing the chances of a driver or front seat passenger hitting the dashboard, the steering wheel or the windshield. They are primarily effective in front or rear collisions. It is extremely important, however, for you to wear your seat belt, even if your car has air bags.

Virginia Driver's Manual states that all children between the ages of four and sixteen must be properly secured in a safety belt or a child safety seat regardless of where the child is seated in the vehicle.