Not wearing a seatbelt is still one of the major causes of fatal road accidents on Belgian motorways. Nearly half of people involved in a fatal road accident were not wearing a seatbelt. More than 70% of those in the rear seats were not wearing one, according to a study presented by the Belgian Institute for Road Safety (Institut Belge pour la Sécurité Routière, IBSR) on Thursday. Accidents on motorways are often more serious than those on other types of road. This is why only 7% of accidents in Belgium happen on motorways, but these represent 16% of fatal accidents.
The IBSR did a study based on fatal accidents on Belgian motorways between 2009 and 2013. A total of 582 deaths were registered in this period. One of the main things to come out of this survey is that not wearing a seatbelt is one of the main causes of deaths on motorways. Nearly half of people involved (45,9%) in fatal accidents were not wearing one. For those in the rear seats, it jumps to 71,1%.
Speeding played a role in 27% of fatal accidents, the study says. 55% of fatal accidents involved a single vehicle. Alcohol was involved in 12,8% of cases.
(Source: Belga)
