New Delhi - Wearing rear seat belts may be mandatory in most countries, including South Africa and India, but it seems the majority of back-seat riders don't bother - and this can be fatal, experts warn.
The Indian government recently made it mandatory for carmakers to install six airbags, but, experts argue that people, especially rear seat passengers, need to be educated to wear seat belts as is the case abroad.
"It is to be kept in mind that in the event of a crash, if the passenger has not fastened his seat belt, the deployment of the airbag could end up killing the passenger, even if the crash does not kill," said KK Kapila, President (emeritus) of International Road Federation (IRF).
“Six airbags imply that the rear seat passengers would also be covered. The practice of fastening seat belts in the rear seat is very low even in big cities and metros and near-zero in the mid to smaller cities of India. Worse still, the awareness that if an airbag deploys without a seat belt, it could be injurious or fatal - is very low.”
As per a WHO report, wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of death among drivers and front seat occupants by 45-50 percent, and the risk of death and serious injuries among rear seat occupants by 25 percent.
Passengers sitting on rear seats have nothing to hold them into their position in case of an accident if the seatbelt is not strapped in. A rear passenger not wearing seat belts, in case of an accident, is prone to hitting the front seat's backrest. This can lead to whiplash injury, often impacting vertebrae and cutting oxygen supply to the brain in many cases.
In many cases, a rear passenger without belts can collide with the front seat, pushing the front passenger into the dashboard or deploying an airbag, posing a fatal risk. It has been seen that in a few cases, the rear passengers can even fly out of the windscreen or hit the dashboard or steering wheel.
IANS