Seat belt wearing rate in NI increases

A major survey commissioned by the Department Of the Environment has revealed that the overall seat belt wearing rate for car occupants has increased since April 2005.

The survey showed that from April 2006, 93% of drivers and front seat passengers were recorded as wearing a seat belt and were more likely to use a restraint than back seat passengers (85%).

Over the last year, the seat belt wearing rate for drivers has remained at 93%, with the front seat passenger wearing rate of 93% in comparison to 92% recorded in April 2005.

For the second consecutive year, the rate for back seat passengers has risen by four percentage points.

The survey also highlighted that the overall seat belt wearing rate for back seat passengers is 85%, with 78% of adults wearing a seat belt in the back, compared to 90% of children.

This compares with April 2005, when 73% of adults and 86% of children wore a seatbelt in the back.

Children under one-year-old and those aged up to four-years-old have the highest back seat restraint wearing rate of 96%.

The age group with the lowest back seat wearing rate was 14 to 29 year olds at 75%, however this figure represents the highest rate recorded since the series began in 1994 and an increase of seven percentage points from April 2005.

But 15% of those aged between 5 and 13 still travel unrestrained in the back seat.

The publication of the survey also revealed a marked difference in the seat belt wearing rate for both front and back seat passengers depending on whether the driver of the vehicle wore a seat belt, with 95% of front seat passengers wearing a seat belt when the driver was wearing one, compared to only 58% when the driver was not.

In the back seat, 86% of passengers wore a seat belt when the driver also wore one, compared to 57% when the driver did not.

The report also showed that 95% of females wore seat belts, in comparison to 92% of males.

There was little difference in the overall level of back seat restraint usage by gender, however, in the front seat, 89% of males compared to 95% of females were restrained.

In total 15,499 cars were observed with the details of 23,211 occupants recorded at 15 sites throughout Northern Ireland, six of which were located on rural roads, six on urban roads and three on motorways.

(EF/SP)