Seatbelt reminder increases safety

17.02.2010
According to a new Liikenneturva study, a seatbelt reminder exists in every other Finnish vehicle. The feature is less rare on the backseat, but can still be found in every sixth car. If one were to remember to buckle up, the road traffic fatalities would drop.

The Finns are of the opinion that being reminded about the seatbelt use is a good thing. According to a prior poll, 84% of the Finns held the view that all vehicles should have a system which reminds them of the seatbelt use (Liikenneturva 2009). The accident investigation boards maintain that seatbelts could have saved 40 lives in 2008.
- We know that the majority of the drivers does not object the use of the seatbelt, but still forgets to buckle up occasionally. The seatbelt reminder is an easy way to reduce the number of people in accidents without the seatbelt on, and the grave consequences of such accidents, says Liikenneturva Safety Engineer Ari-Pekka Elovaara.

According to tests performed in Sweden, the usage rate for vehicles equipped with seatbelt reminders was 99% while cars without one had a usage rate of only 82%.