According to the auto safety authority, the possibility of the passenger being thrown out of the windshield is significantly higher for those not buckling up. (image:Jasz Zen/flickr)
SEOUL, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – A study said it is 16 times more likely for passengers in a van to sustain injury in an accident without a seat belt. According to the Road Traffic Authority on November 19 based on a crash test with a 12-seater Hyundai Grand Starex van on a concrete structure at the speed of 80 km per hour, a passenger without buckling up had 16 times higher probability than one with a seat belt.
In contrast, the dummy with the seat belt on had minor injuries only as it did not hit any of the hard parts of the van’s interior.
According to the auto safety authority, the possibility of the passenger being thrown out of the windshield is significantly higher for those not buckling up. The death probability of a person flown out of the windscreen is as high as 13.59 percent. This is 18 times higher than the death rate of a passenger sustaining injury within the car (0.77%).
Still, the ratio of wearing the seat belt on the front seat is so much lower in Korea than elsewhere, remaining at only 84.4 percent comparing to other countries like Japan (98%) and Germany (97%). The ratio for rear-seat passengers is 19.4 percent, the lowest level among all OECD member countries.
Oh Young-tae, president of the Road Traffic Authority, said, “Anyone not wearing the seat belt may be injured seriously as he has more changes of being hit with hard objects in the car. The best and simplest way for passengers to reduce injury and death is buckling up.”
By Sean Chung (schung10@koreabizwire.com)
