This advice was worthless for violent crashes. Starting in 1968 the federal government required the installation of seat belts, and later combination seat-and-shoulder belts, in all cars sold in the United States. No auto-safety devices have saved more lives. But in some states, especially in Virginia, seat belt use is on the decline. And the results are deadly.

As The Virginian-Press and Daily Press recently reported, a new state report showed car accidents in Virginia declined by 4% between 2017 and 2022, but traffic deaths rose 19% to 5,300. The report blamed the increased deaths on “an escalation of risky driving behaviors,” mainly speeding, and the failure to wear seat belts. A shocking 37% of those killed were unbuckled. While 91.9% of auto occupants wear seat belts nationwide, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Virginia ranks dead last of all states at 75.6%, down 10% from 2019.

All of which raises a question for many Virginians: Why in the world aren’t you buckling your seat belt?

Excuses for not buckling vary, national polls show. Some people say seat belts are uncomfortable. Others want to show their independence from federal regulations. Still others say they are safe drivers and don’t need to use seat belts. They are wrong.

The facts on seat-belt use are clear.

“Buckling up helps keep you safe and secure inside your vehicle, whereas not buckling up can result in being totally ejected from the vehicle in a crash, which is almost always deadly,” the NHTSA says. “Air bags are not enough to protect you; in fact, the force of an air bag can seriously injure or even kill you if you’re not buckled up.”

The agency estimates about 50% of the 25,420 passenger vehicle occupants killed nationwide in 2022 weren’t wearing seat belts. Many would have survived if belted. Drivers and passengers who buckle up are 50% less likely to be moderately injured in a crash.

Virginia law requires that all front-seat occupants of motor vehicles wear seat belts, and anyone under 18 be restrained wherever they sit. One flaw in Virginia’s law is that adults aren’t required to use back-seat seat belts. Yet “among rear seat occupants, seat belt use can reduce the risk for death by 60%,” says the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

Other states also are facing increased deaths of unbelted drivers and passengers. In North Carolina, nearly 400 of 1,200 people killed in car crashes last year were unbuckled. “It’s just depressing to see the number of people who aren’t engaged in that very simple behavior of buckling a seat belt,” said a North Carolina state auto safety official.

I once wrote about auto safety as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal and frequently spoke with Nader. I first called him at the phone in the lobby of his Washington, D.C., boarding house. This was so long ago that when I asked to speak to “Ralph,” whoever answered the phone said, “Ralph who?” Nearly 60 years after Nader’s groundbreaking book, seat belts and shoulder harnesses have saved more than 400,000 lives in the United States.

Most Americans use seat belts, and this is no time to slip back. Today not buckling seat belts when riding in a vehicle is like riding naked. Nobody wants to see it. You should be wearing a seat belt — every time.

Ronald G. Shafer of Williamsburg is a former Washington political features editor at the Wall Street Journal and the author of “A Half Naked George Washington. And Other True Tales From History,” a book of his Washington Post articles scheduled to be published on Amazon in early September.

“The Presidents,” a new book by C-SPAN founding CEO Brian Lamb and co-CEO Susan Swain, ranks America’s 43 past presidents from top to bottom. The rankings by 91 historians are based on qualities ranging from “public persuasion” to “pursued equal justice for all.” President Donald Trump isn’t rated yet.

The book fleshes out the rankings with C-SPAN interviews with biographers of each of the past presidents. Two of the biographers live in the Williamsburg area. I wrote about William Henry Harrison. Edward P. Crapol, professor emeritus of American history at the College of William and Mary, wrote about John Tyler. Both Harrison and Tyler were from nearby Charles City County.

Eight presidents were born in Virginia, the most for any state. George Washington, from Westmoreland County, comes in second behind No. 1 Abraham Lincoln. Washington “wasn’t an egomaniac … he had this sense of personal dignity that was very much part of his power,” said Ron Chernow, author of “Washington. A Life.”

Washington “felt that the American public would often be misled for brief periods of time, but in the long run things would come out right.”

Thomas Jefferson, from Shadwell, ranks seventh. Jefferson “could be quite ruthless in pursuit of something that really mattered to him,” said Willard Sterne Randall, author of “Thomas Jefferson: A Life.” Jefferson used “a congressional slush fund” when “he needed to buy land because he thought that was the wealth and the future of the country, the Louisiana Purchase.”

Woodrow Wilson, who was born in Staunton but elected from New Jersey, ranks No. 11, just ahead of Barack Obama. “The foundation of our economy, the Federal Reserve System — that goes back to Wilson,” said Scott Berg, author of “Wilson.” Also, U.S. foreign policy “is rooted in” Wilson’s 1917 speech when he said, “The world must be made safe for democracy.”

James Monroe, who took office in 1817, is rated the 13th best president. Monroe, who was born in Monroe Hall, ranks high in foreign relations, said John Ferling, author of “Apostles Of Revolution.” His main legacy is the Monroe Doctrine, which warned European powers to keep their hands off the Western hemisphere.

Another Founding Father, James Madison, from Port Conway, ranks 17th. Standing just 5 feet, 6 inches tall, Madison was our shortest president, noted Noah Feldman, author of “The Three Lives Of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President.” But Madison stood tall as “the father of the U.S. Constitution.” Madison and other early presidents from Virginia lose points in the rankings because they were slave owners.

Further down at No. 31 is Zachary Taylor, who was born in Barboursville and elected in 1848 from Louisiana. “Old Rough and Ready” was a general who “won spectacular battles” in the Mexican War, said Elbert B. Smith, author of “The Presidencies of Zachary Taylor and Millard Fillmore.” Taylor died from an “intestinal disorder” after just two years in office.

William Henry Harrison ranks 38th, which isn’t bad considering that “Old Tippecanoe” died after only one month in office. Harrison, who lived in Ohio, “ran the first modern presidential campaign with rallies and campaign speeches,” I said discussing my book, “The Carnival Campaign: How The Rollicking 1840 Campaign Of Tippecanoe And Tyler Too Changed Presidential Elections Forever.”

John Tyler is number 39. Tyler’s major legacy, following Harrison’s death, was “setting the precedent that the vice president will, in fact, become the president in all regards,” said Crapol, author of “John Tyler. The Accidental President.” Tyler’s “accomplishments were fairly significant,” including expanding America’s influence in the Pacific, Crapol concluded.

Dead last among all 43 past presidents is Pennsylvania’s James Buchanan. These rankings could change as they are periodically updated. The biographers’ interviews can be seen at c-span.org/thepresidents. “The Presidents” is an informative book that should rank high with readers.

Shafer, a James City County resident, is a former Washington political features editor at the Wall Street Journal and a Pulitzer Prize nominee for journalism.