5 Facts You Didn’t Know About Seat Belts

Wearing your seat belt should be second nature to all drivers and passengers but unfortunately this is not the case in Africa, with less than 54% of front-seat passengers wearing seat belts and less than

8% of rear-seat passengers. With such an alarmingly low seat belt-wearing rate in our country, we’ve compiled 5 facts you didn’t know about seat belts to help you keep safe on the road:

Fact 1: 

Seat belts are made to only be used once. Insist that your seat belt is replaced after every crash – even with a low speed collision.

Fact 2: 

Airbags work best if you wear your seat belt. Airbags provide supplemental protection in crashes, but motorists can slide under them if they’re not wearing a seat belt. 

Fact 3:

For every 1% increase in the seat belt-wearing rate, 100 lives can be saved. When correctly used seat-belts reduce the risk of death in a crash by 61%.

Fact 4:

Unrestrained rear-seat passengers often kill front-seat occupants who are restrained. This is due to the fact that unrestrained passengers are often flung forward or sideward on impact.

Fact 5:

Child restraints, although not mandatory, save hundreds of young lives every year.Mandatory use of child restraints can reduce child deaths by 35%.

Remember, seat belts are for drivers as well as passengers.