The Government’s deputy delegate in A Coruña, María Rivas, supervised this morning the start of the campaign of surveillance and control of the security belt and child restraint systems that from today and until next Sunday, March 17 launches DGT. He did so at a checkpoint on the N-550 road as he passed through Cambre, where he drew attention to the fact that in the year 2023 a total of 14 people lost their lives in passenger and van accidents, of which 8 were not wearing the safety belt at the time of the accident, which represents 57% of the victims in this type of accident.
The subdelegate stressed the importance of carrying out these campaigns to raise awareness of the use of the safety belt, which “is the lifeguard we have as soon as we get into a car and, in that sense, all insistence is little when it comes to stopping the number of deaths on our roads,” she said.
Maria Rivas recalled that not wearing the safety belt is, along with speed and driving under the influence of alcohol, one of the main risk factors on the road. In fact, in the urban area the possibility of being seriously injured or killed is 5 times lower when wearing a belt.
These data are even more important after the last fatal accidents recorded on the roads of the province and after knowing the data that in the year 2023 a total of 14 people lost their lives in tourism and van accidents, of which 8 were not wearing the safety belt at the time of the accident, which represents 57% of the victims in this type of accident. This rate is higher than that of the community as a whole, where it also exceeded 50%. There were 51 people who died in accidents involving tourists and vans, of which 26 were not wearing the safety belt.
For the subdelegate, this is an “alarming” fact and stressed that one of the main commitments of the Government is to ensure that these campaigns reach the whole of society to educate and prevent road safety and thus achieve zero deaths in traffic accidents.
During the campaign, there will be a significant increase in the controls in which the Civil Guard Traffic Group, together with the Security Forces and Corps, will ensure that all the occupants of the vehicle make proper use of the security belt. In addition, the DGT will also distribute to all drivers diptychs in which a decalogue of reasons justifying the use of the belt is collected.
The campaign, which runs from March 11 to 17, aims to inculcate in the population the enormous effectiveness of the retention systems, both in adults and in minors. The General Directorate of Traffic warns that, at 80 kilometers per hour, a frontal crash without wearing a seatbelt usually results in death or serious injuries. In the jars, the belt reaches its maximum effectiveness, reducing the risk of death by up to 77%.
The deputy delegate of the Government was accompanied by the Provincial Traffic Chief, Victoria Gómez and the head of the Traffic subsector of the Civil Guard in A Coruña, José Corral Segade.