The General Directorate of Traffic (DGT) has launched a new surveillance campaign to control the use of both seat belts in all squares and child restraint systems (CRS). Both elements are essential to help save lives and reduce the severity of injuries in the event of an accident.
Despite having such vital importance, there are still too many people who do without them. The organization headed by Pere Navarro points out that even today 25% of those killed in road accidents still do not use this protection band. In 2022, on interurban roads, 142 people traveling in a car or van without wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident died. It is estimated that half of them could have survived if he had used it.
In the case of children, the use of child restraint systems is even more important since data shows that nine out of ten serious or fatal child injuries would have been avoided if the little ones had traveled properly. Likewise, injuries are reduced by up to 75% with proper use of child seats.
It is important to remember that, in our country, minors with a height of up to 135 cm must travel in a child restraint system appropriate to their size and weight. Although from 136 cm you can legally do without this element, it is advisable to continue using it until they reach 150 cm.
The regulations establish that minors must be seated in the rear seats, except when the vehicle does not have them, they are already occupied by other minors or it is not possible to install all child restraint systems in them. Likewise, it is recommended that they travel in the opposite direction to the march, if possible, up to 4 years old, and obligatorily up to 15 months.
The use of seat belts and CRSs is so important that in the last reform of the Traffic Law the sanction with which this infraction is punished was toughened. Thus, not using them or doing it incorrectly entails a fine of 200 euros and the retraction of four points from the driving license (before three were subtracted).
Regarding the already active campaign of the DGT, we can indicate that it will take place on March 6 and 12.
This campaign joins the one organized by RoadPol (European Road Surveillance Network) which, within the European Union, wants to influence the basic importance of these restraint systems. The agents of the Traffic Group of the Civil Guard and those of the regional and local police who join the campaign will increase the vigilance of these security devices on all types of roads.
In addition to personal land resources at roadside, surveillance from the air will be intensified, with helicopters and drones. Obviously, the automated control that is carried out through the 245 cameras placed both on conventional roads and on high-occupancy roads is maintained.
