Seatbelt usage low in Gauteng - survey

“The occupant most likely to wear a belt in South Africa is the driver,” said AASA Head of Public Affairs, Rob Handfield-Jones.

He said 64% of drivers surveyed were buckled up. However, only 41% of front seat passengers wear their belts and in the case of backseat passengers this drops to 22% (left) and 25% (right).

“In Ireland in 2007, the seatbelt wearing rate for all occupants was in excess of 90%, which the Irish authorities described as having ‘room for improvement'. By comparison, Gauteng's average wearing rate for all occupants is 56%,” commented Handfield-Jones.

The seatbelt research, which was carried out for the Bridgestone-backed Committee for Active Road Safety (CARS), focussed on two locations in Gauteng simultaneously during peak-hour afternoon traffic.

A total of 2007 vehicles of differing types were surveyed, containing 2754 occupants in all seating positions.

The wearing rates recorded for front seat occupants at the two locations were within 3% of one another, while rear seat occupant wearing rates between the two locations showed a 12% variance.

Of the vehicles surveyed, 586, or 29%, had more than one occupant.

In almost half of these vehicles, none of the occupants was wearing a seatbelt, while seatbelt usage among passengers was more prevalent in vehicles where the driver was buckled up. “This shows the importance of drivers setting the example in seatbelt use,” said Handfield - Jones. “Parents in particular should lead the way in ensuring their children develop a life-long habit of buckling up.”

Bridgestone - CARS Chairman, Gavin Kelly, said the findings were of great concern. “Seatbelts can reduce the chances of death or serious injury in a crash by up to 75%,” he said.

“We cannot regard ourselves as a nation that takes road safety seriously until our seatbelt wearing rates reach international norms,” he added.

He called on traffic authorities to step up enforcement of seatbelt wearing, and reminded drivers that seatbelt offences would count towards their licence demerit points limit when this system was implemented in 2009.

“If people won't buckle up for safety reasons, perhaps the risk of losing their licence will convince them,” he added.

Kelly also said that the low wearing rates of rear seat passengers also needed to be addressed. “The rear seat is seen as a safe place to be in a crash, but research and crash tests show that the opposite is true,” he said. “Also, unrestrained rear seat occupants can cause massive injuries to other occupants when they are flung around during a crash,” he added.

The AA said it will work with Bridgestone - CARS to expand and refine the seatbelt research survey into an ongoing programme which will eventually encompass locations across the country, with the survey being conducted on a quarterly basis.