Children sending seat-belt message
‘Nee-naw, nee-naw’ warning to careless drivers
Youngsters have been recruited to drive home the message about seatbelt safety to parents.
Figures show four out of the 24 road deaths in Kent last year boiled down to the fact a passenger or driver was not wearing a seatbelt.
Although the number has improved, compared to 2015’s figure of 11 seatbelt- related deaths, Kent County Council has repeated warnings for people to make sure they secure themselves before they set off.
The statistics also revealed hundreds of drivers were also stopped for flouting the law. In 2016, 509 motorists were stopped for not belting up, compared to 546 in 2015.
To mark this year’s annual seatbelt safety campaign, KCC called in a team of children to help get the serious message across in a video posted online.
Asked: “What would happen if you didn’t wear your seatbelt?” a child responds: “Nee-naw, neenaw”.
Vicky Watkins, KCC’s Road Safety Team leader, said: “Seatbelts have been compulsory for 34 years and we are really starting to see that wearing one has become an unquestioned behaviour.
“The fall in fatalities during 2016 is encouraging, but unfortunately, there are still instances where seatbelts are not worn. Fastening your seatbelt at the start of every journey is such a simple task, but the dangers of not doing so are as high as ever.
“These children have all been taught by a responsible adult to wear their seatbelt and what is very clear is that they can’t fathom why people wouldn’t wear a seatbelt.
“While it is impossible to say whether the outcome of the crashes would have been different if they had been wearing seatbelts, the figures are a sharp reminder of how important it is to belt-up in the car.”