For as long as we have had automobiles, we have had traffic accidents. Even the vehicles that we depend on to take care of us in the event of an accident—ambulances—get into accidents nearly every day. Because ambulances are basically a small emergency room on wheels, the occupants in the back are at perhaps even more serious risk of being injured, or killed, during an accident than people in other vehicles. This is especially true when you consider that ambulances are often weaving through traffic at high speed on the way to the hospital.

According to a 20-year National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study, there are an average of 4,500 crashes involving ambulances every year. Of those crashes, the report found that 84 percent of emergency medical service (EMS) providers in the patient compartment weren’t wearing a seat belt or some other restraint. The report also found that 44 percent of patients were ejected from the cot in serious crashes.

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