November 5th， according to news from Kuaikeji. The seatbelt is a life-saving device， and its importance should not be underestimated; in critical moments， it might be the only thing that can protect you.
However， in real life， there are always people who， for the sake of convenience， neglect to buckle up， especially passengers in the rear seats. They may not realize that this seemingly minor act could truly be fatal.
According to a report by “CCTV News，” in the early hours of October 8th this year， around 6 AM， an online ride-hailing car in Chengdu， carrying passengers， rear-ended a vehicle waiting at a red light due to driver fatigue.
A passenger in the rear seat， who was not wearing a seatbelt， tragically impacted the back of the front seat with their head upon collision， resulting in a fractured cervical spine. Despite being rushed to the hospital， they were pronounced dead. The driver， who was wearing a seatbelt， sustained no injuries.
Similar tragedies are not uncommon. On August 6th， also in Chengdu， an online ride-hailing car heading to the airport collided with a utility pole on the roadside， again due to driver fatigue.
Two passengers in the rear were not wearing seatbelts. One of them， due to inertia， repeatedly hit their head against the car roof and the front seats， ultimately succumbing to severe head injuries.
In an interview， the Deputy Captain of the Law Enforcement and Case Handling Brigade of the Sixth Detachment of the Chengdu Public Security Bureau’s Traffic Management Bureau stated that， according to statistics from their department this year regarding fatal accidents involving passengers in small passenger vehicles， the number of fatalities among rear-seat passengers was 2.67 times that of front-seat passengers， with a seatbelt usage rate of only 18.8% for rear passengers.
Authoritative data indicates that， in traffic accidents， the mortality rate for rear-seat passengers not wearing seatbelts is 3.5 times higher than for those who are buckled up.
When a vehicle collides， unbelted rear-seat passengers can be thrown forward， impacting front seats or other parts of the vehicle’s interior. This not only endangers their own lives but can also cause secondary injuries to other occupants. Even in low-speed collisions (below 30 km/h)， not wearing a seatbelt can lead to injuries， and even fatalities.
