Don’t be a crash test dummy – Correct use of seat belts save your life
The MVA Fund recently launched the ‘Click for Life’ campaign which aims to inculcate a culture of safe travel with minimal injuries and less fatal crashes through the correct use of seat-belts.
Through this campaign, the Fund intends to positively reinforce the correct use of seat-belts, educate road users on how to correctly install child car seats/child restraints as well as outline the benefits of using seat-belts.
The campaign is trigged by the World Health Organization (WHO) report that states that the correct use of safety-belts or child restraints reduces motor vehicle crash-related injuries and fatalities by 50%. Additionally, the study conducted on ‘Safety-belt Compliance in Namibia’ in 2007 by Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) Namibia confirmed that the average driver compliance levels on safety-belt usage in Namibia is 40.7%.
Accordingly, these results draw attention to the high injury rate of over 6000 persons who sustain varying degrees of injury on average, every year. This number may invariably be linked to the improper and/or non-use of seat-belts and child restraints as both drivers and passengers face an increased risk of injury.
Additionally, while seat-belts and child restraints do not prevent crashes from taking place, they play a major role in reducing the severity of injury to vehicle occupants involved in a collision. An occupant’s chance of survival therefore increases greatly when appropriately restrained.
According to the MVA’s Acting Chief Corporate Affairs, Sidney Boois, adherence to the correct use of seat-belts and child restraints may mean the difference between life and death and severity of injury.
“Therefore, all road users are advised to buckle up as it has the following benefits: Reduction of serious injuries such as traumatic brain injuries (TBI), poly-trauma (PT) and spinal cord injuries (SCI) ; reduction of medical cost due to severity of injury,” he added.
Meanwhile, all road users are therefore urged to use seat-belts, and correctly, at all times to minimize resultantinjuries in case of a road crash.
Caption: The MVA Fund once again reminds the public to report crashes to the MVA Fund Accident Response Number 081 9682, as doing so can save a life, and to follow us on Facebook or Twitter for road safety tips.
