Safety restraints include seat belts, booster and child seats and are a highly effective way of reducing serious and fatal injuries to car occupants. Universal seat belt use alone could prevent 6,000 deaths and 380,000 injuries every year in Europe according to a study by ICF Consulting. Yet despite the legal obligation to use safety restraints for both adults and children, usage rates still vary greatly across Europe. Seat belt wearing rates in the EU15 are between 45% and 95% for front seat occupants, and between 9% and 75% for rear seat passengers, according to European Transport Safety Council (ETSC) estimates. Safety restraints work primarily by restraining car occupants in the event of a crash. Safety restraints are most effective in roll-over accidents, frontal collisions and in lower speed crashes, which occur mostly in urban areas. However, the problem of lower seat belt wearing rates in urban areas persists. For adults, the three point belt is best at reducing injury as it spreads the force over a wider area and restricts occupant movement better than a lap belt. Children need different types of restraints as their body mass is different. Seat belt wearing rates can be improved through a mixture of measures including: police enforcement, education and information campaigns, and vehicle technology.
Abstract