Safety Belts

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30560, 1 October 1964, Page 16

Safety Belts

Sir, —If your newspaper sees fit to report that in the opinion of one person a fatal car accident would have been prevented if the occupants had not been wearing a safety belt, perhaps your newspaper would also see fit to faithfully report all lives saved by the use- of a safety belt? At this time of rising death rate on the roads, surely you could have refrained from printing such adverse comment on the use of the safety belt? A newspaper has a duty to the public to report the whole truth. May I suggest that you make that half-truth a whole truth? I would hate to think that through reading that report in your paper someone is not going to wear a safety belt. What about you?— Yours, etc, T. COLLINS.

September 29. 1964. [We have faithfully reported the statistical evidence in favour of safety belts and repeatedly recommended their use. We have also recognised that in a very small percentage of accidents they may increase and not reduce the danger of death of injury. When such a rare case occurs we see no reason to suppress either the facts or others’ opinions.—Ed., “The Press.”]