In the back seat – only with seat belts!

The obligation to fasten seat belts in the rear seats is not only ignored by passengers. This defect is characteristic of almost half of the country’s adult passengers. They rarely, if ever, admit to sitting in the back seat of a car without wearing a seat belt. This is demonstrated by the survey data, which shows that it is older people, who have a solid driving experience of 10-20 years and are more likely not to wear seat belts in the back of the car, and self-confident residents of the country.

In the back seat – only with seat belts!

Having drawn attention to this important requirement of the Highway Code, primary school children in the Pakruai district decided to stick to it and encourage others to do the same.

“From now on we will always buckle up and tell others to buckle up,” said primary school children in the Pakruoj district. Students were encouraged to make this decision by visiting the Pakruojos Technical Inspection Station. The campaign organized in it continues the cycle of events on safe behavior for primary school children, “Be a safe road user”, initiated by the Association of Lithuanian Technical Inspection Companies “Transeksta” together with the Vilnius County Traffic Police. “Be a safe road user.”

“The little students of the Pakruoj district have drawn attention to a sensitive problem. This is a requirement of the Highway Code for seat belts for those sitting in the back. Ignoring it, unfortunately, is not yet considered a serious violation, even if the consequences are obvious.

It is estimated that driving at 80 km/h.

speed and hitting a fixed obstacle, an unbelted passenger dies in less than 0.3 seconds. Therefore, asking everyone who drives a car to fasten their seat belts is not out of the question,” says Aistė Dijokaitė, Commissioner of the Vilnius County Traffic Police.

In the road safety lesson she conducted, the little cyclists learned how a bicycle should be in order, what color reflectors are needed on the front and rear and what the responsibilities of a young cyclist are. The elementary school students have committed to cycling only with bicycles in order, with reflectors, lights, always with a helmet and wearing a jacket.

Police officers’ adjutant “Amsius” escorted primary school students to the Pakruojs technical checkpoint. Its representatives told and showed the little ones how, for what purposes and with what devices brakes, lights, exhaust gases and other parameters of the technical condition of vehicles are checked.

“Tests have repeatedly shown that seat belts are the main tool for passenger safety. However, airbags, electronic devices or other safety devices simply complement them. Seat belts can reduce the risk of death in an accident by half, while relying on airbags alone reduces this risk by only a third,” says Valdas Juozas Vilūnas, host of the LRT TV show “Roads, Cars, People”.

As part of the safe driving campaign, young citizens of Pakruja learned why it is necessary to fasten seat belts not only in the front seats of the car, but they are equally important when sitting in the back seats. So that these statements did not remain just words, elementary school children practically tested where the seat belts for the rear seats are located in the car and how to fasten them correctly.

“Even with a slight impact passengers can injure themselves or injure passengers sitting in front. It must also be taken into account that unfastened children can disturb the driver’s attention with sudden actions,” recalls Vaidotas Vaišvila, head of the Šiauliai Technical Control Center, whose branch is the Pakruoi Technical Control Station.

According to data from a sociological survey, 10 thousand people were interviewed online. of the population, it turned out that almost a third of passengers always wear seat belts in the back seats of the car. Another 22% of people rarely take this safety-enhancing action before driving, usually when someone tells them to fasten their seatbelt. The number of those who support this need is likely to increase. It will no doubt be strengthened by the attitude of primary school children in Pakruoji district to always wear seat belts and not tolerate fellow travelers who do not comply with traffic law requirements.