Easter Bank Holiday Weekend Seatbelt Appeal Launched

A total of 17 people have been killed and 47 injured in road accidents over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend in the last six years, according to new figures release by the Road Safety Authority (RSA).

The figures were released as the RSA and An Garda Síochána launched their Easter Bank Holiday Weekend Seatbelt Appeal.

With thousands of people expected to travel this weekend, the RSA and An Garda Síochána are urging road-users to be vigilant on the road and in particular, to ensure they and their passengers are wearing seatbelts.

An analysis of total road fatalities for 2015 showed that one in four drivers killed and one in three passengers killed were not wearing their seatbelt at the time of the collision. Research suggests that two out of every three people will survive a crash if they are wearing a seatbelt, meaning over 20 deaths could have been prevented last year if they had been wearing a seatbelt. Of the nine passengers killed who were not wearing their seatbelt, six were sitting in the back of the car.

Chief Executive of the RSA, Moyagh Murdock, said: "We are reminding road-users that bank holiday weekends are typically high-risk periods due to the sheer number of people on the road. One simple step people can take to ensure their safety is to wear a seatbelt. Buckling up is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you, and everyone in your car, stays safe if you crash. Without it, your chances of surviving a collision are significantly reduced. You are also putting the lives of others at serious risk.

"If you crash, you will be thrown around the inside of a car, potentially causing serious injury to your family, loved ones or friends. So if you're travelling this weekend, don't take any chances – buckle up and make sure that everyone else in your car does the same. It could be the difference between life and death."

An Garda Síochána is reminding road-users that its members will be out in force over the Easter Bank Holiday period to tackle high risk behaviour with a particular focus on non-compliance with seatbelt wearing.

Chief Superintendent Aidan Reid, An Garda Síochána added: "It really is incredible to believe that even in this day and age, so many drivers and passengers are not wearing their seatbelt. They are proven life savers, there is no other way to re-enforce that message.

"If you're involved in a collision, you are not just risking your life, you are risking the lives of the other people in the car. In 2015, over 10,500 fixed charge notices were issued to drivers who failed to put their seatbelt on, or properly restrain children in a car. Drivers need to be aware that penalty points for non-wearing of seatbelts increased from two to three recently.

"So if you are detected not wearing a seatbelt you will be one quarter of the way towards losing your licence, or almost half way, if you are a learner or novice driver on a lower penalty point threshold, but this information pales into comparision to the fact that without one, you could suffer horrendous or even fatal injuries in even a low speed collision. The use of a safety belt is without doubt, the most basic form of road safety."

(MH/LM)