Buckling up is a legal requirement, and it is the right thing to do.
The Department of Transport and Public Works is working hard to emphasise the importance of buckling up, both drivers and passengers, and especially children. Anyone under the age of three years must be buckled up in an age-appropriate child restraint.
Deaths and disfigurements are possible even in low-speed collisions. The back seat is no safer than the front. Having airbags in your vehicle is no excuse for not wearing a seatbelt. Airbags are more effective when combined with a seatbelt. So always buckle up, in every seat, on every trip. Drivers are responsible for ensuring that all passengers are buckled up and will be prosecuted if any child under 14years old is found not buckled up.
In a crash, any unrestrained person continues moving at the same speed as the vehicle was moving at the time of impact. This means an unrestrained person becomes a projectile, endangering the lives of everyone inside the vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of death in a crash by nearly half, and almost completely eliminates the risk of being ejected from the vehicle.
Passenger safety tips:
Child passenger safety tips:
In September, the Department of Transport and Public Works will make it a priority to check seatbelt use among drivers and passengers and make sure that they #AlwaysBuckleUp.
Jandré Bakker
Head of Communication
Department of Transport and Public Works
Email: Jandre.Bakker@westerncape.gov.za
Sound bites can be requested via Whatsapp on 083 310 5357.