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Seatbelts and child restraint systems

Seatbelts considerably reduce the risk of severe and fatal injury. In cars the risk of fatal injury for those sitting in front is reduced by 40%, and by 30% for those sitting on the rear seats. If everybody would wear a seatbelt, this would annually save about 15 road deaths and 85 severely injured in the Netherlands. Seatbelts' safety effect is especially large at low driving speeds and decreases at higher speeds.

 

Seatbelt use has been compulsory in Europe for the last fifty years. In a number of West European countries its use by drivers has been stable at 90% for years. In the Netherlands, however, use lagged behind for decades and has only recently reached 94% on rural roads and 93% on urban roads. For passengers in the rear, seatbelt use was made obligatory in 1992 and is now 73%.

 

There are separate rules for those with a shorter height than 1.35 metres. Their height and weight, but also their body weight's distribution, require special safety devices, such as booster seats and child restraint seats. These devices have a greater safety effect than seatbelts, irrespective of age and position in the car. In the Netherlands, the number of children not using any safety device has decreased considerably, from 25% in 2004 to 10% now.

 

Since the introduction of obligatory seatbelt use, hardly any effectiveness studies have been carried out, although both cars and seatbelt systems have considerably improved. For example, many modern cars are equipped with seatbelt pretensioners, and electronic systems contribute to seatbelts being activated if the car is about to crash. The car industry is also experimenting with 'flexible' seatbelt strength during the collision phase. Many cars are already fitted with a system that warns the occupants when they do not wear a seatbelt.

 

For more details:

Fact sheet Seatbelts and child restraint seats (pdf)