Belgians are seatbelt slackers

25 October 2004

BRUSSELS – Belgians are ignoring seatbelt safety campaigns, according to figures published on Monday.

Only 55 percent of drivers and front seat passengers wear a belt and only 45 percent of passengers sitting in the back seats do.

The Belgian Institute of Road Safety (IBSR) collected the figures which were published by the Belgian newspapers Het Nieuwsblad and Het Volk.

The IBSR admitted that advertising campaigns, run over the last few years,which encouraged passengers to belt up, had had a limited impact.

The two Flemish newspapers argued the best way to encourage people to wear a seat belt was for the police to crack down on drivers and passengers who continued to flout the law.

This policy could halve the number of people killed on the roads by 2010.

Subject: Belgian news