THE USE OF SAFETY BELTS AND THEIR EFFECT IN ACCIDENTS: 1987 AMENDMENT TO THE SAFETY BELT ACT AND THE USE OF SAFETY BELTS; ACCIDENTS RESULTING IN FATALITIES DURING THE YEARS 1985-1989

On 1st November 1987, the compulsory use of safety belts in Finland was extended to cover passengers in the back seats of private cars as well as van drivers and accompanying passengers. This report presents the results of follow-up surveys on safety belt use carried out by the Central Organization for Traffic Safety in Finland and the Mobile Police in connection with the amendment to the law. When the law came into force, the use of safety belts by back seat passengers in private cars increased from 27% to 67%. There was also an increase in the use of child safety belts and seats from about 40% to around 80%. The report also sought to determine the effect of safety belt use on personal injuries to persons on the basis of accidents resulting in fatalities which were studied by road accident investigation teams between 1985 and 1989. No fewer than 326 fatalities in private cars and 23 fatalities in vans could have been averted over this five-year study period if all the passengers in these vehicles had been using safety belts and all the children had been sitting in child safety seats. Annually, this would have meant the saving of 70 lives and a 23% decline in the number of fatalities in these vehicles. It was not possible in the report to ascertain precisely what effect the amendment to the Safety Belt Act had on the number of fatalities in road accidents. This stemmed from the fact that there was a significant change in traffic safety during the five-year period in question. Traffic safety can be improved by increasing the use of safety belts. The report suggests that the use of safety belts can be increased not only by improving public awareness and monitoring procedures but also by means of technical solutions.