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16. 03. 10. - 16:00

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16. 03. 10. - 16:00

Back seat passengers in seat belt warning

One third of back seat car passengers in Austria do not use seat belts, according to the Committee for Traffic Safety (KfV).

The committee, which provides figures annually on seat belt use by car drivers and passengers, said that the numbers of back seat belts in use was dramatically different to front seat use.

Between 2004 and 2008, 130 drivers who did not use seat belts died and 1,500 were injured annually.

Whereas only one per cent of drivers who used seat belts died in accidents, eight per cent of those who did not do so died.

Only seven per cent of drivers who used seat belts were seriously injured in traffic accidents during that period, but 23 per cent of those who did not use them were seriously injured.

KfV Director Othmar Thann said today: "Unsecured passengers in back seats endanger not only themselves in case of accidents or sudden braking but also passengers in the front seats whom they may be thrown against."

KfV surveyed 33,000 drivers for seat belt use last year.

Austrian Times

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