Don’t Forget Your Seat Belt

First gifted to the world by Swedish car manufacturer Volvo, the seat belt for most has become second nature when travelling in a vehicle, which is good practice as it is one of the most crucial elements for vehicle safety, as its use can be decisive between life and death in the event of a collision, and since the invention of this global device, has been proven to be an effective measure to protect those traveling in a vehicle, significantly reducing the risk of suffering serious or fatal injuries.

In Spain, the use of seat belts in the front seats has been mandatory since 1975, and in the rear seats since 1992. Failure to comply with this rule carries a fine of 200 euro and the loss of four points on the driving licence.

If the passengers are adults and do not wear a seat belt, they are the ones who must pay the fine, not the driver, but the driver assumes responsibility for minors.

Studies have shown that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of death in a collision by more than 70% and significantly decreases the chance of serious injury. Despite its proven effectiveness, there are still people who do not wear it, which highlights the need to continue promoting its importance.

According to current data, more than 90% of drivers wear seat belts, although this percentage drops to 80% for rear seat passengers. But it is also true that there are 10% of people who do not wear a seat belt.

Surprisingly, this figure is even higher among drivers of vans and commercial vehicles on national roads, where a large number of incidents actually occur.

What is alarming is that this percentage has increased in recent years, even though safety research shows that wearing a seat belt reduces the risk of serious injury by more than 70%, a considerably significant figure.

Current regulations establish that all occupants of a vehicle, regardless of whether they are driving or not, as well as whether they are in the front or back of the car, must wear a seat belt.

For some years now, the General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has recommended fastening rear seat belts even if there are no passengers, because, they say, if makes the rear seats more secure in the event of an impact and can help to prevent items stored in the boot from moving forward.

“Due to the effect of inertia, any object traveling loose in a car continues moving forward and multiplies, due to the effect of speed, the force with which it would hit any occupant by up to forty times its weight at just 50 km/h,” said the DGT in 2018.

“Thus, a three-year-old child whose child seat was poorly anchored and was travelling in the back seat, in the event of a collision, would hit the occupant (or driver) of the front seats with the same force as if they were a giraffe (at 50 km/h) or an elephant (90 km/h) in the so-called elephant effect,” explained the Traffic agency.

And although you might think that the items in the boot are safe, a strong collision could cause heavier objects, such as suitcases, to topple the reclining seats and end up in the front passenger compartment.