Seat belts have the ability to better protect vehicle occupants from fatal accidents than anything else. According to federal statistics, in 2003, the use of seat belts saved nearly 15,000 lives nationwide. However, even more than 6,000 deaths per year are related to the improper use -- or the failure to use -- the proper seat belt restraints during a car crash.

In addition to the importance of saving lives, seat belts also save the economy billions of dollars. Every year, seat belts save society approximately $50 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury-related costs nationwide. But seat belt failure has tremendous costs.

Seat Belt Defects - More Common Than You Think

Though the national average for seat belt use is at a high of 71 percent, due mainly to a $3.7 million campaign often known as the Click it or Ticket, in which seat belt usage is encouraged, although the often overlooked statistic is the 10,000 deaths out of 30,000 auto accidents caused by faulty seat belts.

These numbers are not reflective of individuals harmed or killed because of faulty seat belts. In fact, each year a number of car companies recall automobiles due to defects in seat belt design.

What is referred to as a second collision is usually associated with an individual being at less of a risk while wearing a seat belt. The first collision is when the vehicle makes an impact with another vehicle or object. The driver or passenger of the vehicle is either ejected from the vehicle or is injured because of impact with a car's interior, which occurs in the second collision. Seat belt use helps protect a car's occupants from fatal second collisions with a vehicle's windshield, steering wheel, or roof.

Defective seat belts may not properly restrain occupants of a vehicle due to poor manufacturing or design. These malfunctions include:

. "Inertial unlatching", which takes place when a seat belt becomes unlatched during a collision. Buckles without a "lock-for-the-latch" design are more susceptible to inertial unlatching, in which the latch plate pulls out of the seat belt's buckle. In 1982, a patent by General Motors said that a properly designed latch should be physically blocked in the latched position to prevent unlatching by inertia forces acting on the vehicle body. Despite these warnings, anti-inertial unlatching features are still not used in all seat belt buckles in new cars and the United States government has largely ignored inertial unlatching in its safety guidelines.

. "False latching", which occurs when a seat belt buckle appears to be closed, but is not. If an individual is not properly restrained and instead are falsely latched, they may be at risk for ejection from a vehicle. A seat belt is considered to be falsely latched if it pulls free at less than five pounds of pull. False latching can cause passenger ejection from a moving vehicle or serious injury when the passenger collides with the interior of the car.

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