Unbuckled drivers urged to deprive of free medical care in case of an accident
In Russia, liability for deliberate failure to wear seat belts should be increased. It is necessary to consider amendments to the legislation, which would force injured drivers, if they did not wear seat belts and suffered in an accident, to pay for medical services at their own expense. This was stated by Anton Shaparin, vice-president of the National Automobile Union (NAU), in a conversation with Izvestia.
"Now devices to disable signals about unbuckled belts are on open sale. The cheapest plugs cost only 100 rubles, the most expensive - more than 5 thousand rubles. The number of reviews shows that these dangerous products are in extremely wide demand. Marketplaces' claims that they block such product cards do not stand up to criticism: hundreds of such products from various sellers are easily found in a search, and many of them have thousands of active reviews. If the cards were blocked, there would be no reviews," Shaparin told Izvestia.
The NAS vice-president pointed out that the free sale of such plugs is somehow still legal. And advertising of these products on marketplaces does not contain any mention that their use leads to the risk of severe injuries or fatalities in case of road accidents, he emphasized.
"It is clear that such plugs stimulate the growth of mortality on Russian roads, and advertising of such products should be regarded as propaganda of traffic rules violation. The refusal to sell such products will save the lives of Russians and the budget of the Mandatory Medical Insurance Fund, because the provision of medical services to treat unbuckled people injured in accidents creates a significant burden on the health care system," Shaparin noted.
According to the results of last year on the trading platforms of two popular marketplaces in Russia, Russians bought 291.6 thousand plugs for seat belts for a total amount of more than 84.5 million rubles. Compared to 2023, there is a marked increase in demand for such "devices".
Read more in the exclusive material of "Izvestia":
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