Belt up in the back.

Every week one person is killed after being hit by a back seat passenger not wearing a seat belt.

It is estimated that wearing a seatbelt in the front seat of a car saves over 2,500 lives every year in this country, although it has been revealed that nearly a third of drivers have not worn a seatbelt while in a moving car in the last year.

In addition according to recent research only 54% of adult passengers wear seatbelts in the back of a car, Londoners are the worst offenders of not wearing their seatbelts, under 35's are far more likely to risk their lives by not wearing  a seatbelt than older motorists and women are more likely to buckle up than men.

If a car crashes at 30mph and a back seat passenger is unrestrained they will hit the front seat and anyone in it with a force of between 30 and 60 times their own body weight. Such an impact could result in death or serious injury to both the back seat and front seat occupants.

In 1983 the wearing of front seatbelts became compulsory for adults and in 1991 the wearing of rear seatbelts also became compulsory.

Since 1983 it has been estimated that casualties have been reduced by at least 370 deaths and 7,000 serious injuries per year for front seat passengers and in excess of 70 deaths and 11.00 serious injuries for rear seat wearers. 

The Government has recently announced new seat belt rules set to come into effect in May 2009. Under the new rules in vehicles fitted with seatbelts, the number of passengers carried must not exceed the number of seatbelts.

Thanks to Association of Industrial Road Safety Officers (AIRSO) for the information