Absolutely! If not for a seatbelt, I'd have been six feet under with a steering wheel in my chest twenty years ago when I was rear-ended by a semi. Still broke both feet, damaged my spine, joints, etc, but I'm alive and kicking, and wouldn't have been without a seatbelt.
We always wear our seatbelts and nobody gets into any of our cars without wearing one! Now if I can talk my mom into wearing one it would be even better.
I am sorry to hear about your friend and his son. We will be praying for them.
I am so sorry to hear about your friend and his son. I will be thinking of them.
I would also like to point out that when you have kids in the car, even though they are wearing a seat belt, that doesn't protect them if the seat isn't in the upright position. A little boy on one of the football teams here was partially ejected because the car had a blowout and flipped. They were all wearing seatbelts, but his seat was leaned back. Something I had always let my kids do. It let him slip out during the flip. He was only 8 years old.
Now, my 8 year old makes sure everyone's seat belt is fastened and their seat is upright. It was a horrible way to learn a lesson about using your seatbelt correctly.