Always wear your seatbelt wherever sitting in a vehicle

As a retired law enforcement officer from Wisconsin, I was disturbed when reading the "Click it or Ticket" article in the Nov. 19 edition of the Bradenton Herald, that, according to Florida law, adult passengers riding in the back seat of a vehicle do not have to buckle up!

I can't believe this is the law here in Florida!

I say this for the simple reason, that in the case of a head-on collision, and the back seat passengers are not buckled up, they will propel forward with such force that they could kill the driver and passenger buckled up in the front seat.

Just think about this! It could happen to you or your loved ones. Whether it's the law or not, front seat or back seat, always wear your seat belt when you are in a moving vehicle.

In case of an accident, that belt keeps you inside that vehicle, where there is "Room to Live!" If you would happen to be a passenger in the back seat of a vehicle that goes out of control and rolls over, without a seat belt on, chances are you are going to be ejected from that vehicle and become one of the 50,000 who get killed in auto accidents every year.

Don't become one of those deadly statistics. It is a proven fact that wearing your seatbelt greatly reduces the chance of serious injury or death. In a vehicle accident, your car can be totally smashed in on both sides, front and back.

But inside, right in the center of that smashed-in vehicle, there is "Room to Live!" But only if you stay in there! Wear your seat belt at all times in that vehicle, and you will.

Ted Meekma Sr.

Bradenton

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Always wear your seatbelt wherever sitting in a vehicle ."