The seat belt was one of the first road safety measures that were incorporated into automobiles. Thanks to them, millions of lives have been saved in car accidents. In Spain, they were not mandatory until 1974. And on urban roads, they were not implemented until 1992. What’s more. Seat belts were around for many years. limited to the driver and co-pilot area. Those of us traveling behind did not have that privilege. Luckily, times change. And it is now normal to fasten the rear seat belts when we occupy those seats.
Currently, In addition to being mandatory fasten the seat belts, rear and front when someone occupies those seats, if you do not do so, current cars have a system of audible and visual warning which is not deactivated until the closure buckle comes into contact with the corresponding closure tab. But there is a question that you may have asked yourself and that arises from time to time in the field of driving:what to do with the rear seat belts when no one is traveling behind?
Logic would tell us that if no one uses something, we shouldn’t touch it. For example. If it is not cold, it is not necessary to activate the air conditioning. Or if it’s daytime, why turn on the vehicle lights. Or in the case at hand: why fasten the rear seat belts if we travel alone. But, like car lights, there are situations where lights are necessary during the day. And regarding the rear seat belts, There are those who recommend always fastening them. And there is a reason to argue this decision.
What is the seat belt for?
At this point, we are all familiar with seat belts. And we know that they are necessary because if our vehicle brakes or suffers a collision, the belt makes us stay in our seat instead of being thrown away. The General Directorate of Traffic states that in 2020, 125 people died in traffic accidents without wearing a seat belt. 26% of the total. A figure that could have been reduced if it had been carried.
Like other road safety measures, the seat belt is not 100% effective, but it is greatly reduces the chances of dying in a road accident. According to DGT statistics, it reduces the risk of death by 77%. And if it is not sufficient reason to carry it, in front and behind the vehicle, “not using it is a serious infraction punishable by a €200 fine and the loss of 3 points on the license if you are the driver.”
Refering to belt functionfastening the rear and front seat belts when we are in a car serves to dampen deceleration in case of crash. In the words of the DGT, the belt acts as a parachute. And he gives a practical example. “in a crash at 80 km/h against a rigid object the car’s occupants would be thrown forward with a force 80 times greater than its weight.”
How to wear the belt correctly
Below is a list of basic recommendations About the use of the belt:
- All belts must be fastened, front and rearin the occupied squares.
- The belt should fit well tight to the body. No clothespins or very thick clothes. They reduce effectiveness.
- You should not put nothing below the belt to be more comfortable.
- Avoid using towels or covers in the seats.
- When fastening them, make sure that are not hooked or coiled.
- The upper part should pass through the clavicle, between the neck and the shoulder. If it passes through the neck, “it could cause serious injuries in the event of an accident.”
- He seat too inclined It reduces the belt’s effectiveness and can cause strangulation in the event of an accident.
- In the event of an accident, it is recommended change the belt because its braiding loses effectiveness and there may be breaks in the anchoring system.
Fasten the rear seat belts, for what?
When experts talk about fasten the rear or front seat belts, two expressions emerge. The first is the underwater effect. And the second is the elephant effect. The General Directorate of Traffic itself talks about it in its informative publications.
He underwater effect occurs when someone It is not well secured by the belt. Because it is too loose or because it is poorly adjusted. When a crash occurs, our body “presses the seat down and slides underneath of the abdominal band.” This means that we can “collide against the steering wheel, the dashboard or the lower part of the passenger compartment.” Result: injuries to the back and pelvis, broken femur and serious internal bleeding.
For his part, the elephant effect It also occurs in traffic accidents. As the General Directorate of Traffic explains in its official magazine, “when a passenger traveling in the back seat does not fasten the seat belt and a sudden brake occurs, it hits the person in the front seat with a force that is equivalentdepending on its weight and vehicle speed, to the weight of a pachyderm.”
And this is where we find the answer to why many recommend fastening rear seat belts. Even if you travel alone with no one behind you. If we carry something behind us, in the back of the vehicle or in the trunk, if an accident occurs, the rear load would be pushed forward. If we are carrying something heavy, it could reach the front and crash into us. And, therefore, causing us great damage due to the elephant effect. The DGT gives a numerical example. At a speed of 60 kilometers per hour, a passenger or cargo weighing 75 kilos would hit the front seat with a force equivalent to more than 4 tons.