Remember to belt up!

It may, therefore, surprise people to learn that as many as 40% of motorists admit to not wearing their seatbelt when behind the wheel – according to a recent survey.

In addition to this, only 35% of passengers belt-up when travelling in the rear seats of a car and half of all the people questioned don’t use the seatbelt when occupying the front passenger seat.

These figures highlight a serious problem of insufficient public awareness when it comes to the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt.

Successive government advertising campaigns have been at pains to get the message across, often in disturbing fashion, but it appears that the desired results have not been achieved.

The Highway Code clearly states that a car’s occupants must wear a seatbelt if one is available, unless you are specially exempt.

It is also the driver’s responsibility to ensure that all children under 14 years of age wear seatbelts or sit in an approved child restraint.

Some of the most serious injuries inflicted on drivers during car accidents occur as a result of rear seat passengers not wearing seatbelts so it’s doubly important to make sure that people belt-up in the back!