According to the Transport Accident Commission’s latest Road Safety Monitor survey into driver behaviour, 170 000 Victorian drivers do not always wear a seatbelt when they get in the car.
While this indicates that 97 per cent of drivers are doing the right thing — there are nearly 200 000 unsafe drivers on Victorian roads.
Last year, 31 people died while not wearing a seatbelt — nearly 30 per cent of all fatalities and the highest rate since 2012.
That trend has continued so far this year with no seatbelts a factor in 11 of the 99 deaths on roads.
Kyabram police officer Sergeant Dale Simm said while the number of people who comply with the law had improved over his 30-year career, it was still concerning to see so many out there putting others at risk.
“People get a shock when they get a fine for a large amount for not wearing their seatbelt. It’s pretty simple just to put it on,” Sgt Simm said.
“It is a restraint that works in conjunction with the airbags and there’s been a lot of accidents where if someone just had their seatbelts on, they would have survived.
“The main thing is to try and put it on every time that you hop in your vehicle, even if you’re just going up the road or around the corner.”
Following the rise in the number of deaths involving drivers and passengers not wearing a seatbelt, the TAC announced it was reviving one of its most powerful campaigns — the compelling 1992 seatbelt TV ad that implores Victorians to buckle-up.
The ad, dubbed ‘bend your knees, Katie’, depicts a horrific accident and emotional aftermath as a young woman learns to walk again following a crash.
Victorian Minister for Roads, Road Safety and the TAC, Jaala Pulford, said the four-week campaign would include new outdoor, digital, print and social media content, headlined with the message, ‘Seatbelts. What’s stopping you?'.
“It is staggering that 50 years since seatbelts were made mandatory in Victoria, we are still seeing far too many people die on our roads by failing to buckle-up,” Ms Pulford said.
“This campaign is a powerful and emotional reminder of the devastating consequences of failing to do something as simple as taking a few seconds to belt-up before you hit the road.”
