Survey: Trinis don’t wear seatbelts

“Seatbelts seem to be a taboo for many drivers. Even the children in most cars do not use the seatbelt, because the caretaker never teaches them about it,” said the Foundation’s general manager Frank Tull.

In a release, the Romano Foundation said its road safety research (July 1-2) showed “in 75 percent of the 2,200 vehicles checked, toddlers stand in the back of the car between the front seats or sit in the back unbuckled.

Parents that take their children to school in the morning pick them up again after school or make stops at the grocery or somewhere close to home don’t bother taking measures for safety.”

Research was also done on July 1-2 in residential areas at several locations — the Westmoorings roundabout, Trincity, and Ramsaran Street Chaguanas. Maxi-taxis and other drivers in downtown Port-of-Spain were polled earlier this year revealing low usage of seatbelts and, “people don’t get charged by the patrolling police as such.”

Interviews with drivers found they said that they did not believe anything could happen to them travelling short distances, and “danger” was on the highway and not in the neighbourhood.

The poll found that 83.5 percent of drivers admitted they were at risk but believed they drove safely so nothing could happen to them. Forty-eight percent of drivers and passengers found the use of a seatbelt annoying and never buckle up, while 41 percent of parents experienced a sudden brake or minor accident which caused a toddler to tumble or sustain a minor injury. Twenty-eight percent relied on their airbags.

Tull said the awareness programmes of the Romano Foundation targets naive behaviour of drivers and parents who exposed their children to high risk of severe injury, or even death in case of an accident.

He said, “Even though people know the risk in traffic they still behave irresponsibly.”

Tull said studies have shown that at a speed of 30 miles per hour, an accident could already be fatal.

He said the Romano Foundation was involved in road safety campaigns for the last five years in Suriname and for the last three years in Trinidad and Tobago. He said the Foundation got involved in road safety awareness because deaths as a result of traffic accidents “show some alarming numbers.”