When the rear seatbelt ruling was announced, it was a mixed bag of reaction from the public. It is surprising (and alarming!) that some feels this is a hassle. Since now is still the ‘introductory’ period (no enforcement yet), I conduct a quick survey by observing cars around me at USJ Summit-KESAS interchange traffic light. Almost all cars with rear passengers does not use seatbelt and of course there are “heroes” at the front not wearing seatbelts at all.

Maybe they have rapid healing/generative ability like this girl. Or perhaps they just feel that they’re 100% sure accident wouldn’t happen to them? Or when they meet with a collision, they will not get thrown around like a rag doll even without seatbelt?

It is a known fact, in an accident, unbelted passenger is far more likely to die than belted passengers. Yet many willingly flouting the law designed to protect them.

I want to highlight some recent cases where rear seatbelt could have reduced the number of deaths.

KM 46 Jalan Kuala Terengganu-Kuantan, Marang, 5 Deaths
Honda Ferio was heading to Marang and tried overtake at a double line. Met a head on collision with Proton Wira that came from opposite lane. The culprit was wearing front seatbelt and survived the crash. However 4 occupants (two rear passengers) from Proton Wira die instantly due to ejection.

KM 38 Jalan Mersing Kluang – Mersing   16 April 2008, 3 Deaths
The rear passenger died during the crash although the seatbelt was readily available. The front passenger died during the crash due to huge loading from the rear passenger.

KM 14.5 Jalan Gurun – Jeniang – Sik  8 January 2008, 2 Deaths
The front seats (driver and front passenger) were ejected forward due to the additional “push” force from the unbelted rear passengers.

Some Seatbelt Facts (from http://www.thinkseatbelts.com/):

• Without a seatbelt, in a crash at 30mph (about 50km/h), you will be thrown forward with a force between 30 - 60 times your body weight. Seatbelts significantly reduce this force and reduce the risk of fatality or serious injuriy.
• Never put two children in one adult belt. They will not be secured safely and in a crash, it could cause siginificant injuries or even death to each other.
• Never put a seatbelt around both yourself and a child on your lap. In an accident, your weight will crush the child.
• Airbags are common in modern vehicles; these are designed to work with seatbelts - NOT instead of them.

So think before you drive and buckle up! You may not have a second chance.

Tags: accidents, rear seatbelt

This entry was posted on Friday, June 20th, 2008 at 2:20 pm and is filed under Road Safety Related Laws, Road Users, rear seatbelt. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.