Only 20.1% Indians owned a child helmet, despite 92.8% claiming to know of their safety benefits. Similarly, over 90% people were not using their rear seat belt, despite over 70% being aware of its existence. These were some of the key finding of a study conducted by Nissan India and SaveLIFE Foundation.
The study looked at rear seat belt use and child road safety in India and surveyed 6,305 people across age groups in cities including Mumbai. “This report documents, for the first time in India, the concerning state of child safety on roads and the public’s perception and expectation on the use of rear seat belts,” Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of SaveLIFE Foundation, said.
According to the World Health Organisation, the use of rear seat belt reduces the risk of fatalities by 25%. Maharashtra recorded over 13,000 deaths in road accidents in 2018. According to officials from the transport department, a large number of the victims could have survived had they put on their seat belts or helmets.
The report said over 9,400 children below the age of 18 had lost their lives in road accidents in 2017. Around 91.4% people surveyed said a strong child road safety law could prevent fatalities.
The report highlighted that though people were aware of the advantages of rear seat belts and child helmets, they did not implement it. For instance, in Mumbai, 100% respondents answered that helmets decreased chances of injury or death during a road accident, but only 18.3% parents owned a child helmet. The report stated nearly 65% of the respondents, who did not own a child helmet, said the absence of a law mandating child helmet is the reason for not owning one, while 20% and 11% cited limited availability and affordability, as the reason.