TRL has taken the opportunity to drive home the fact that people are twice as likely to die in a collision if they do not wear a seatbelt, and why it is crucial for drivers and passengers to always remember the importance of this safety measure.
The laws in the UK to wear a seatbelt as a compulsory measure has, without a doubt, saved thousands of lives and made a significant impact on road safety.
For the past 10 years the number of drivers in the UK wearing seatbelts has consistently been above 90%. While most people do wear seatbelts in both the front and back seats, there are still some who don’t. The introduction of seat belt reminders (SBR) into new vehicles is one thing that has been done to increase wearing rates.
Three important reasons to always wear your seat belt:
- Not wearing a seatbelt can be fatal: Seatbelts are one of the most effective safety systems in all vehicle types and consistently prove effective at preventing serious injury and death in the event of a collision.
- Renders airbags less effective: Airbags are designed to work assuming the occupant is wearing a seatbelt; not wearing a seatbelt makes airbags less effective.
- It’s illegal not to wear a seatbelt: Drivers and passengers who fail to wear seatbelts in the front and back of vehicles are breaking the law and drivers caught without a seatbelt face fines of £100. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.
Some of TRL’s valuable research into this area can be found here:
- Assessment of fitting Seat Belt Reminder systems to passenger vehicles
- Why People Do and Do Not Wear Seatbelts
To find out more about TRL’s critical work in this area, alongside how it is shaping the future of transport through safety innovation, please contact Andy Parker on andy@kredoconsulting.com
About TRL
TRL is a global centre for innovation in transport and mobility. It provides world-leading research, technology and software solutions for surface transport modes and related markets engaged in intelligent, new mobility innovations.
Independent from government, industry and academia, TRL helps organisations create global transport systems that are safe, clean, affordable, liveable and efficient.
Established in 1933 within the British Government as the UK\’s Transport Research Laboratory, TRL was subsequently privatised in 1996. Today, TRL has more than 1,000 clients across 145 countries, driving positive societal and economic benefit worldwide.
Core areas of expertise include: infrastructure asset management & asset technologies; intelligent transport systems & traffic operations; sustainability & healthy mobility; vehicle safety engineering & technology research; major incident investigations; human factors safety & behavioural science.
TRL is strategically investing, producing disruptive research and delivering innovation linked to:
• Connected & self-driving vehicles
• Ultra-low emission technologies
• Shared mobility services
• Intelligent asset information
• Big data, machine learning & artificial intelligence.
Head-quartered in the UK, nearly 1/3rd of TRL’s business is with overseas organisations. Its international focus covers Europe, India, Africa & Middle East, plus wider Commonwealth countries, supported by strategic collaborations in North America and Asia Pacific.
More information can be found at: www.trl.co.uk
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