A lifeline

Half a century ago, in 1975, a revision of the Traffic Rules came into force in the USSR, enshrining the obligation for drivers and passengers to wear seat belts. Since then, despite various changes and amendments to the traffic rules, this requirement has remained unchanged. Numerous tests and experiments have proved that seat belts are the main means of keeping a person alive in a car and protecting him or her from serious injury. Unfortunately, not all motorists and passengers wear seat belts. Izvestia found out why it is important to always use seat belts.

History of the question

The first prototypes of automobile seat belts appeared at the end of the XIX century. Then their task was to keep the coachman and saddlers from falling off the carriage. In automobiles belts appeared in the beginning of XX century. They were two-point belts and resembled those that are now used in passenger airliners. For a number of reasons, they were not widely used in motor vehicles.

An important milestone in the history of seat belts was 1959, when the first car was equipped with a three-point seat belt, consisting of two straps - horizontal and diagonal. Subsequently, it was this scheme that became generally accepted. Some time later (in different countries in different ways) there were requirements for cars to be equipped with such belts.

For a long time, seat belts were non-inertial: they required manual adjustment for each person to ensure the correct positioning of the straps, Denis Zagarin, Head of the Test Center at NAMI, told Izvestia.

- The main task of the seat belt is to keep a person in the seat in case of an accident and prevent him from hitting the elements of the car interior. That is why the belt must fit snugly against the body. Inertia belts ensure fulfillment of this requirement without requiring additional adjustments," he emphasized.

In modern cars, seat belts are equipped with pretensioners with pyropatrons, which, in case of an accident, additionally pull the person to the seat, Denis Zagarin added. They allow to fix a person even more reliably in case of a collision, he noted.

Big risks

Ignoring seat belts is one of the main causes of death and severe injuries to drivers and passengers in road accidents, the State Automobile Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia notes. According to statistics, the use of a seat belt reduces the risk of death of the driver in a frontal collision by 2.3 times, in a side collision - by 1.8 times, in a rollover - by 5 times. A front seat passenger wearing a seat belt has a 40-50% reduced risk of serious injury or death. Rear seat occupants are one-quarter less likely to be injured or killed when wearing seat belts.

A number of myths about seat belts are widespread among motorists, with which they justify their unwillingness to buckle up in the car. "Izvestia" tried to dispel these misconceptions.

Myth one: airbags will protect better than belts

This is a misconception, and very dangerous, said Denis Zagarin. According to him, belts are the key link in the passive safety of the vehicle. When creating a car, designers and engineers calculate programmable zones of body deformation in case of impact and adjust the work of airbags based on the fact that all people in the car are buckled up, said the head of the Test Center of FSUE "NAMI". If a person in the cabin of the car is not buckled up, then the airbags fired can cause him additional serious injuries, he said.

- The airbags are designed to deploy in such a way that the driver or passenger gets into them when they are fully deployed. This condition is exactly what seat belts provide. In a collision, the unbelted person starts to move forward by inertia. At that moment, the airbags shoot towards him with great force. As a result, the driver or passenger who ignored the seat belts receives a blow to the head and torso that is much more powerful than that of a professional boxer. This is fraught with serious injuries," Denis Zagarin told Izvestia.

Myth two: it is possible not to buckle up in the back seat

This is also an erroneous and dangerous statement, the head of the Test Center of FSUE "NAMI" is sure. Unbuckled rear passengers risk not only their life and health, but also the life and health of the driver and front passenger, he emphasized.

- The rear passenger at the moment of impact by inertia flies into the front seat. The back of the seat is simply not designed for such loads and can break. Thus, not fastened with a seat belt rear passenger not only gets injuries from the collision with the back of the front seat, but also additionally traumatizes those who sit in front, - said Denis Zagarin.

In addition, more often in an accident the car sharply changes its trajectory: after the collision the car turns around, there is a risk of overturning. As a result, unbuckled passengers, both front and rear, risk injury not only from the first impact, but also from subsequent collisions with interior elements, he emphasized.

Myth three: the belt will not let you get out of the car quickly, in an accident it is better to be thrown out of the car

This is a fatally dangerous misconception, says Denis Zagarin. Practice, confirmed by statistics, shows that a person who flew out of the car in an accident has virtually no chance of survival, he notes.

- Such accidents are very rarely without fatalities or severe injuries. In this case, a person is injured twice: directly at the time of the accident, as well as when flying out of the car and the subsequent landing," the expert emphasized.

Myth four: seat belts are not needed in the city

This opinion is also false, says the head of the Test Center of FSUE "NAMI". It is based on the fact that in the city speeds are lower than on country roads, and therefore accidents are supposedly less traumatic, he explains. In fact, for a person who is not wearing a seat belt, any collision is dangerous, even if the accident occurred at a minimum speed, the expert says.

- Numerous tests and trials conducted by employees of FSUE "NAMI" with the use of dummies equipped with a variety of sensors have shown that in a collision at a speed of 20-30 km / h a person receives approximately the same injuries as when falling from the height of the second or third floor, - said Denis Zagarin.

Therefore, it is necessary to use a seat belt on any trip regardless of its duration, route and speed, the expert emphasized.

Myth five: seat belt can harm pregnant women

This statement has nothing to do with reality, emphasizes Denis Zagarin. Moreover, it is the seat belt that can save the life and health of a pregnant woman and the future child, he notes. According to him, a woman in a position is much more at risk if she is unbuckled in the car. In this case, in a collision, she can hit her belly hard on the steering wheel or other elements of the interior of the car. In addition, due to the fact that she will not be held in the seat, she may be hit in the stomach with force by the airbags deployed. Therefore, it is extremely important for expectant mothers to wear a seat belt, the expert notes. At the same time, it is very important to position it correctly, he emphasizes.

- Women in a position should pass the waist strap under the abdomen, and the diagonal strap should be placed so that it passes to the side of the abdomen. In this case, in an accident, the load from the seat belt will be on the hip joints and collarbone: with this arrangement of belts they will not harm either the future mother or her future child, - said Denis Zagarin.

At the same time, he categorically does not recommend pregnant women to use various restraints and pads for seat belts. Such devices change the characteristics of belts, affect their work. It is impossible to predict and forecast how they will behave in case of an accident and what effect they will have on a person, emphasizes the head of the Test Center of FSUE NAMI.

Children ask for a belt

Seat belts should be used not only by adults but also by children when traveling in a car, emphasizes the Russian State Automobile Inspectorate. If the car is not equipped with ISOFIX child seat fastening system, it is the seat belt that allows to properly fasten the child restraint device in the car cabin, the agency notes.

According to the current rules, children up to seven years old should be transported exclusively in a child car seat. Also, the use of this device is mandatory if a child under 12 years old rides on the front passenger seat. Minors aged 7-12 years old can ride on the rear seats in child restraints or be fastened with regular seat belts. The belt must be adjusted so that its diagonal strap passes over the child's chest and not over the child's neck.

- If the range of adjustment is not sufficient, the traffic rules allow the use of a booster (is a child restraint device), which allows you to properly fasten the young passenger with the regular seat belt. However, the use in this case of ordinary pillows, mattresses and other improvised means for the child to sit higher is categorically inadmissible," emphasizes the head of the department of road safety propaganda and prevention of child traffic injuries of the State Automobile Inspectorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, police colonel Sergei Hrantsevich.

"It is not the traffic inspector who needs a belt, but you"

According to the State Automobile Inspectorate, failure to use seat belts by drivers or passengers is one of the most widespread violations of traffic rules, suppressed by traffic police inspectors when controlling road users. According to the current legislation, violation of the rules of application of seat belts threatens the driver with a fine of 1.5 thousand rubles And such a fine will be issued to the motorist even if his passengers are not fastened. At the same time, the passengers themselves, who ignored the requirement of traffic rules on the use of seat belts, will face a fine of Br500. A fine of 3,000 rubles is imposed for violation of requirements for transportation of children. The same liability threatens a driver for transporting a child under seven years of age without a child restraint, but simply wearing a seat belt.

- Drivers and passengers must wear seat belts on any journey. It doesn't matter whether the passenger is sitting in the front or the back of the vehicle: they must wear a seatbelt in any seat in the vehicle. Quite often passengers, including minors, are injured in crashes when they are not wearing a seatbelt when traveling short distances on familiar routes (e.g. to school). It is important for road users to realize that a seat belt can save their lives. You need it first of all, not the traffic inspector who writes a fine for unfastened seat belt, - emphasizes Sergei Hrantsevich.

In the traffic police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia reminds that the effectiveness of seat belts will be maximized by compliance with other safety measures on the road - safe speed limit, refusal of risky and rash maneuvers, inadmissibility of drunk driving, clear and strict compliance with road signs and markings.

The material was prepared as part of the implementation of the federal project "Road Safety" of the national project "Safe Quality Roads.