Safety experts say that all occupants should take off their winter coats when they get into a vehicle. A seatbelt should never be loose or worn over a thick winter coat. Moreover, all occupants need to make sure they tighten the harness of the seat after they fasten their seatbelts.

Police also urge all occupants to buckle up. They maintain that a good number of fatalities could be avoided if all occupants wore seatbelts. Even a crash at a low speed – 8 km/h and over – can toss a passenger forward. The risk of injuries rises exponentially as one travels at higher speeds.

Seatbelts significantly lower the risk of injury
Experts agree that the number of motor vehicle fatalities could be reduced by 40 percent if all occupants wore seatbelts. Police believe that a seatbelt is a lifeline in an accident. The Slovenian Traffic Safety Agency (AVP) said that vehicle fatalities could be cut in half if everyone buckled up. Moreover, wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of serious injury by almost 50 percent, and the risk of minor injury by about 25 percent.

G. P., Translated by D. V.