Why Safety Belts Work
When you ride in or on anything, you go as fast as it goes.

Take the simplest vehicle. Suppose it is just a seat on wheels.

Put someone on it.

Get it up to speed. Then stop the vehicle.
The rider does not stop.

The person keeps going until stopped by something. In a real vehicle, it could be the windshield...

or the instrument panel...

or the safety belts! With safety belts, you slow down as the vehicle does. You get more time to stop. You stop over more distance, and your strongest bones take the forces. That is why safety belts make such good sense.
See also:
Control of a Vehicle
The following three systems help to control the vehicle
while driving—brakes, steering, and accelerator. At
times, as when driving on snow or ice, it is easy to ask
more of those control syste ...
Infants and Young Children
Everyone in a vehicle needs protection! This includes
infants and all other children. Neither the distance
traveled nor the age and size of the traveler changes
the need, for everyone, to use sa ...
Compass
The vehicle may have a compass
display in the Driver Information
Center (DIC). See Compass for more information. ...
