Backseat seatbelt usage reduces traffic death toll by 15 percent

Backseat seatbelt usage reduces traffic death toll by 15 percent. January. 27, 2016 07:10. by 박성민기자 min@donga.com.

Back seat belt use rates in Korean highways have risen significantly during the past year. This seems to have contributed to the reduced number of deaths due to not wearing seatbelts by more than 15 percent over the year.

According to Korea Expressway Corporation, seatbelt usage of back seat passengers jumped from 17.1 percent in 2014 to 31.2 percent last year. The result was driven by comparing data collected the previous year by surveying 10,622 vehicles passing 20 toll gates across the nation in October 2015.

Death toll on the road due to not wearing safety belts on the expressways decreased to 71 last year from an annual average of 102.3 between 2012 and 2014. The percentage of unbuckled deaths dropped from 39.9 percent in 2012 to 31.8 percent last year. Still, seatbelt use rate in Korea stayed relatively low at 31.2 percent. The figure is far lower than advanced nations including Germany (97 percent), England (89 percent), and France (84 percent). “If backseat passengers are not buckled-up, the chance of death in case of traffic accidents goes up not only for themselves but also for those at the front seat for up to 7 times,” said Lee Jong-won, a traffic safety expert at Korea Expressway Corporation.