It’s been more then 40 years since seat belts were first required in cars, and more than 25 years since a state, New York, first required people to use them.

Despite years of progress and legislation, it’s remarkable that about one in five auto occupants still does not wear one.

Count 21-year-old Zachary Tenenbaum of Brunswick among them. He was thrown through the side window of a car Sunday when it rolled over on Route 9 in Durham.

He survived, and should count himself a lucky man. The driver, Tevis Yarmala, 20, of Bowdoin did not require medical attention, no doubt because he was wearing a seat belt which kept him in the vehicle during the crash. The unbelted Tenenbaum, meanwhile, was hospitalized.

We spend so many hours in motor vehicles, and they are now so comfortable, that it is impossible for most of us to imagine the violent potential of a crash or rollover even at moderate speeds.

That’s why watching the winter Olympics is, when you think about it, instructive.

Over the past 10 days, we have seen over and over what happens to a human body out of control. Some of the crashes on the downhill ski slopes have been frightening to watch as young men and women lose control at high speeds, sometimes in excess of 60 mph.

While some skiers have been injured, most, fortunately, have walked away to compete again.

But these crashes occur under ideal conditions. The competitors wear helmets, the area has been cleared of stationary obstacles and fences have been erected.

Unlike people thrown from cars during accidents, the skiers also aren’t trying to dodge several tons of flying, rolling metal vehicle.

The disturbing video of Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, is sadly more representative of an automobile accident. The young man was thrown from his sled and directly into a steel beam.

Highways are lined with such objects, from trees to rocks, to bridge abutments, guardrails and, yes, steel beams.  Most rollover victims are thrown into such an object, or crushed by a vehicle as it rolls.

Anyone who doesn’t make a habit of wearing a seat belt is, as the Olympics and the statistics show, playing roulette with their life.