Belted Rear Seat Passengers Can Protect Drivers In Accidents

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 (Bernama) -- Rear seat passengers who wear the safety belt can prevent themselves as well as the driver and front seat passenger from being killed when a car is involved in a road accident, according to an expert on road safety.
Prof Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the impact during an accident could be "very harmful" to the people not wearing the safety belt.
"During the impact, rear seat passengers can not only be killed (if they do not wear the safety belt) but they can even cause the deaths of the people in the front seats because the impact during a crash can be equivalent to two tonnes," he told Bernama Monday.
Radin Umar, who is deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International Affairs) of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), said that during a crash, the weight impact would increase tremendously and this could be harmful to the passengers not wearing the safety belt.
Therefore, he said, it was advisable for the rear seat passengers to wear the safety belt although it was not mandatory for them to do so at the moment. Currently, only the driver and the front passenger are required to wear the safety belt.
Radin Umar also said that there was a close relationship between the volume of traffic and the number of road accidents because when the volume of traffic increased, the roads would reach their capacity and there would be congestion.
"This will really test the patience of road users," he said, adding that impatient drivers were prone to make errors, experience lapses in concentration or violate traffic rules.
"When under pressure, such as frustration due to the length of a journey, drivers tend to disregard traffic rules.
"That is why we request everybody to respect the system. If we fail to respect the system, the system will fail. Failure to respect the system will encourage people to make more mistakes, which will contribute to accidents," he added.
He said reduction of the speed limit had been scientifically proven to contribute to fewer road accident fatalities, provided there was ample enforcement.
"Some countries even achieve up to 36 per cent reduction in road accidents when the speed limit is reduced and there is stricter enforcement," he said.
Radin Umar also advised motorists returning to their hometowns during the coming festive season to exercise extra caution when on the road.
"There is a need to respect the whole system, particularly during the 'balik kampung' rush as they will pass through small towns along the way. In these small towns, there are pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists," he reminded.