Medindia’s survey of 620 cars at important traffic intersections in Chennai, a major South Indian metro, found only 2 cars had people in the front seat wearing seat belts. The occupants of the first car were not Indians. No questions asked. The occupants of the other car that pulled aside at our request were a very young couple who grinned sheepishly and said, “Oh no, we know it looks ridiculous to wear seat belts here…. We just wanted to try out every thing this new car offers.”

Car crashes are life and death

Princess Diana’s tragic death in a high-speed car crash brought into focus the importance of seat belt use. The driver and the rear seat passengers who were not wearing seat belts were killed in the crash. The only person who survived the crash was properly restrained in the front seat and had an air bag.

Car crashes can be fatal and even if those involved in a crash survive, they usually suffer serious injuries like fractures and broken bones, head injuries or brain injury, or injuries to the spine and neck.

A recent US survey conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that 13 percent of the people killed in road accidents were not wearing seat belts. It has been documented that fastening seat belts properly prevented 12,000 fatalities and over 325,000 cases of serious injuries each year.

Most child deaths in car crashes are preventable

A 2008 Australian study that analyzed serious injuries associated with seat belt misuse in children below 12 years revealed that the use of age-appropriate child restraints and booster seats could have prevented three quarters of child deaths in car accidents.

In a parallel study, Dr Yvonne Zurynski analyzed 48 children who were hospitalized after car accidents recorded by the Australian Pediatric Surveillance Unit (APSU) and found 77 % of the children sustained abdominal injuries, 35 % head and neck injuries, and 46% required surgery. One in three children had spinal injuries and four died in the crash. In New Zealand, the European Union, Canada and the United States, the use of a child restraint or booster seat is mandatory for children aged more than 12 months.



‘The more the merrier’—Not always

It is a common sight in India to witness jam-packed cars with toddlers huddled on adults’ laps. Squeezing in to accommodate as many passengers might seem like getting the best out of a car, but it is a disaster waiting to strike. Clearly, in such cases, passengers outnumber the available seat belts in the car. Most of the fatal road accidents have happened in overcrowded cars travelling on highways, studies reveal.

Mandatory seat belt use

Many countries have made seat belt use mandatory. A study by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates the immense benefit of enforcement of seat belt laws that has cut fatalities and serious injuries to a great extent.

China Seat Belt Intervention, a project launched by the Chinese government and the World Health Organization (WHO) to increase seat belt use among drivers and front seat passengers was implemented over a 12-month period (August 2005-August 2006) by the Guangzhou Traffic Command and Control Centre of Guangzhou Municipal Bureau of Public Security. The risk of death was reduced by up to 60% when drivers used seat belts.