National Safety Council, News elease, December 10, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 		
December 10, 2001
CONTACT: Joe Larkin
630-775-2303	
						
National Safety Council Advises Motorists to Buckle Up For A Safe Christmas Holiday

Itasca, IL -- The National Safety Council (NSC) predicts that 381 people will live to enjoy the Christmas holiday because they took a few seconds to buckle their safety belts before starting out on trips to visit relatives or to shop.  The sad news is that an estimated 522 people may die in traffic crashes over the 4-¼ day Christmas holiday period that begins at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 21, and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, December 25.  Of these 522 victims, 141 will not be wearing seat belts.

NSC President Alan C. McMillan said, *Seat belt use has risen dramatically in the past few decades, and thousands of lives have been saved as a result.  Not everyone buckles up, though, and the excuses seem absurd in the face of these statistics. Seat belts save lives and help prevent serious, disabling injuries. Nonfatal disabling injuries are estimated to climb to 27,700 over the Christmas holiday period.*

Besides wearing your seat belt, there are other things you can do to ensure safe and happy holiday travel.  Make sure all children are placed in the back seat in age-appropriate safety seats, leave early for your destination to avoid frustration and speed-related collisions in case of heavy holiday traffic or inclement weather, and don*t let drinking and driving wreck your holiday celebration.  Even moderate consumption of wine or beer impairs a driver*s ability to make the proper decisions on the road.  

The National Safety Council is a nonprofit, nongovernmental public service organization dedicated to reducing unintentional injuries in homes and communities, in the workplace and on the road. Motor vehicle crashes are addressed as one of our nation*s leading safety and health problems in the Safety Agenda for the Nation released by NSC in 2000.  For more information about the NSC, visit the Council*s web site at <http://www.nsc.org>.
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