Few belt up in rear seats of cars

Press, 25 January 1988, Page 5

Few belt up in rear seats of cars

The number of passengers wearing seat belts in the rear seat of cars has remained low despite an over-all improvement in seat belt use in New Zealand. A recently released Ministry of Transport survey shows that the number of front-seat occupants wearing seat belts that were correctly adjusted rose from 70 per cent in 1981 to 89 per cent in 1986. The number of children restrained while travelling in vehicles also improved. The survey, done in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, concluded that the increase in the use of inertia reel seat belts had probably contributed to the improvement in belt use. The trend had not been

reflected in fear seat belt use as although there had been a steady increase in the availability of rear belts only 18 per cent of adult rear seat passengers were restrained. Since 1981 there was an increase in the number of children travelling in the front seat, who were restrained from 55 per cent to 91 per cent. In the rear seat 79 per cent of preschool children were restrained while only 44 per cent of those aged eight to 14 were restrained. Drivers were not ensuring older children were using seat belts and 13 per cent of school-age children travelling unrestrained in the rear could have used a seat belt in the front seat, the survey said.