Cristina Hodgson
THE Directorate General of Road Traffic (DGT) is stepping up checks on correct seat belts use this week with a new special surveillance campaign.
The campaign comes after finding that, despite the drop in accidents recorded in 2020 due to the pandemic, the number of fatalities without seat belts has increased.
According to the data provided, 21% of those who died in traffic accidents in Malaga province were not wearing seat belts
“This figure is still too high to lower our guard and stop insisting that the use of seat belts saves lives”, a spokesperson from the DGT said.
“In fact, failure to use a seat-belt, together with speeding and drink-driving, is a major risk factor for road traffic deaths.”
The DGT has revealed that, at national level, the number of people killed on the road who were not wearing seat belts at the time of the accident rose from 22% in 2019 to 26% in 2020.
This figure even rose to 36% during the first state of alert (March 15 to June 20) when, of the 58 people killed, 21 were not wearing seat belts.
DGT figures released for the period January 1—December 31, 2020, in Malaga province reveal 643 accidents with fatalities, resulting in 28 deaths, 116 hospitalised injuries and 878 non-hospitalised injuries.
Of the total number of fatalities, 21.43% were not wearing seat belts.
Correct seat belt use reduces the risk of death by half, for this reason, until March 14, the Guardia Civil together with local and regional police forces are running a campaign with increased vigilance on correct seat belt use and approved child restraint systems, both on urban and interurban roads throughout the province of Malaga.
