Seat belts are designed to retain people in their seats, and so prevent or reduce injuries suffered in a crash
	They ensure that as little contact is made between the occupant and vehicle interior as possible and significantly reduce the risk of being thrown from a vehicle.
	On modern vehicles, seat belts are now also designed to work as the key part of wider injury prevention measures and safety systems, such as airbags and head restraints, which will not be as effective in reducing the risk of injury if an occupant is not wearing a seat belt.

	The belt should be worn as tight as possible, with no slack
	The lap belt should go over the pelvic region, not the stomach
	The diagonal strap should rest over the shoulder, not the neck
	Nothing should obstruct the smooth movement of the belt by trapping it
	In most modern vehicles, the height of the top of the seat belt can be adjusted on the B-pillar. If you cannot get the seat belt to fit over you correctly, as described above, you should try adjusting the height.

All pregnant women must wear seat belts by law when travelling in cars. This applies to both front and back seats and pregnancy does not in itself automatically provide exemption from the law. The safest way for pregnant women to wear a seat belt is:

	Place the diagonal strap between the breasts (over the breastbone) with the strap resting over the shoulder, not the neck.
	Place the lap belt flat on the thighs, fitting comfortably beneath the enlarged abdomen, and over the pelvis not the bump.
	The belt should be worn as tight as possible.

In this way the forces applied in a sudden impact can be absorbed by the body's frame.

Pregnant women should not wear 'Lap-only-Belts' as they have been shown to cause grave injuries to unborn children in the event of sudden deceleration. Mother and unborn child are both safer in a collision if a lap and diagonal seat belt is being worn correctly.