Not wearing seat belts

In general, the surveys found most drivers had very positive attitudes towards wearing seat belts. However, many drivers still believe that if they drive carefully they do not need to wear a seat belt and also many over-estimate the risk of being trapped by the belt in emergency situations - see Figure 3. In those countries showing a sizeable number of drivers thinking this way, it will be necessary to run campaigns to change people’s attitudes towards seat belts.

The surveys found that throughout Europe the number of cars having seat belts fitted on all seats was relatively high; with 85% of cars having belts fitted. However, the proportion was still low in some countries, notably Slovakia, Hungary, Spain and Cyprus, especially regarding the use of restraint systems for children, the worst cases were countries from Eastern and Southern Europe, such as Estonia and Italy.
While a number of countries have very high rates of seat belt wearing, the rate is still low in others, especially in urban areas; on average 84% of drivers, ranging from 71% to 96%, always use their seat belt on motorways, but only 66%, from 36% to 91%, always use it in built up areas. These results fall some way short of having all drivers always wearing a seat belt and although wearing rates have generally increased in recent years, there is still much room for further improvement, especially as it is one of the most effective prevention measures, especially for accidents at low speed. It is therefore important that countries with low wearing rates should initiate specific programmes to improve the situation.