Rise in seatbelt wearing saves lives

UP to 60 lives are now being saved on our roads every year because more people are using seatbelts.

Research by the National Safety Council (NSC) indicates that there has been a significant increase in seatbelt wearing, particularly since the introduction of penalty points.

When the Government launched its Road Safety Strategy six years ago, 55% of drivers and passengers said they wore seatbelts a level of compliance that saved around 40 lives each year.

A survey published by the National Roads Authority in 1999 showed that seatbelt compliance had increased to 57%.

NSC spokesperson Brian Farrell said a new NSC survey carried out last June would show a significant increase in the number of people wearing seatbelts.

He also believed a long-running advertisement called Damage, supported by both the NSC and the Department of the Environment, had been hugely effective in encouraging people to wear seatbelts.

It shows a young man sitting unrestrained in the back seat and starts off by warning the viewer that the man will be responsible for brain-damaging his girlfriend.

"We like to think that advertisement, which is running on all channels, is having a major effect on people's behaviour," said Mr Farrell.

The NSC is particularly concerned at the number of children still being carried unrestrained in cars.

Mr Farrell recalled the international outcry when Michael Jackson held his baby over the balcony of his third floor hotel room.

Among other things the singer was accused of being an irresponsible father.

"Every time a parent puts a child unrestrained in the back seat they are doing the same thing.

"A crash at 30 miles an hour will propel the child forward from the back seat at the same rate as a fall from the third floor hotel balcony. The same laws of physics apply."

Mr Farrell said there was a legal obligation on drivers to ensure that passengers under 17 years wore a seatbelt.

RAC Ireland managing director Robert Taylor said compliance was still a problem among some drivers and passengers despite the introduction of penalty points.

He described some of the excuses for not belting up as pathetic.

Their survey showed that drivers and passengers were more concerned about creasing their clothes than crushing their bodies.