George Churchill is lucky to be alive.

After spending six months in the hospital following a serious car accident last year, Churchill says his recovery is amazing and his wife says he is a miracle.

Churchill says one lesson he took from his experience is the importance of wearing a seat belt.

It’s not an earth shattering message. Everybody knows you’re supposed to buckle up when you get in a car.

But there was a time when wearing a seat belt wasn’t always such a common notion. Over time it’s become a generational difference in driving safety.

Much of the Millennial Generation is used to the practice. It is ingrained in their youth as state law now mandates the practice.

But talk to some of the older generations and they’ll tell you it wasn’t always a common practice.

The fact is, wearing a seat belt may have saved Churchill from some of the anguish he went through.

This is something he acknowledges.

He said he was in a hurry because someone was breaking into a property he manages, so he didn’t take a second to buckle up.

His accident resulted in 18 broken ribs, a broken neck, a collapsed lung, multiple skull fractures, a broken scapula, a nearly-severed ear and a broken nose. He ended up in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.

And he is lucky to be alive. Not everyone can be so lucky.

So it’s worth a moment to consider the importance of that life-saving strap of fabric.

Statistics from the Washington Traffic Safety Commission show that in 2014 there were 1,350 serious motor vehicle crashes in the state with 327 of those crashes resulting in fatalities, 77 of which involved people not wearing seat belts.

In Island County in 2014, Churchill’s accident was one of three crashes where the driver or passengers were unrestrained.

Churchill, a well-known businessman in Oak Harbor, shared his story this week as a way to share with the community that he’s back to his old self.

Perhaps hearing his story will compel someone to think twice about driving without a seat belt and potentially save a life.