A nationwide observational survey of seatbelt use on Irish roads was conducted in the summer of 2006 by Road Safety Authority. Seatbelt use and gender were recorded from motorists travelling along a selected sample of roads. Data was recorded from all drivers, adult front and rear passengers of any age (excluding children), and separate surveys for primary school and secondary school children in the front or rear seat were conducted. Results revealed that 86 percent of drivers observed were wearing a seatbelt. This number is unchanged from the summer 2005 survey. Previous surveys revealed wearing rates of 85 percent in the summer 2003 survey and 71 percent in the summer 2002 survey. Compared to 2005 estimates, the overall front seat rate for females remained the same (92%), while the rate for males decreased by one percentage point to 82 per cent in 2006. The 2006 un-weighted nationwide estimates for drivers seatbelt use by road type were 89 percent for urban national primary, 81 percent for urban national secondary, 90 percent for rural national primary, 81 percent for rural national secondary, 85 percent for regional roads and 83 percent for county roads. The wearing rate for adults in the rear seats of cars increased from 46 percent in 2005 to 63 percent in 2006. Women are more likely than men to belt up in rear seats, with wearing rates of 69 per cent and 54 per cent respectively. There has been a sizeable improvement in the wearing rates for secondary school goers in rear seats, from 55 per cent in 2005 to 76 per cent in 2006. Female secondary school goers are marginally more likely to belt up in rear seats, with 77 per cent of females and 74 per cent of males wearing seat belts. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting