01/02/2010

Shocking 'Belt-Up' Ad Launched

A hard-hitting THINK! campaign reminding drivers of the potentially fatal consequences of not wearing a seat belt was launched today by Road Safety Minister Paul Clark.

The £1.3m campaign shows that if you have a crash without wearing a seat belt you actually experience three crashes, even at everyday speeds like 30mph.

First, your car crashes and stops. Second - because there's nothing to stop you moving - your body carries on and hits the inside of the car.

Third, you stop but your internal organs keep moving, hitting the inside of your body and can rupture under the force of the impact.

Mr Clark said the campaign reminds drivers that - no matter how short their journey or how slowly they are driving - they are risking their life if they set off without putting their seat belt on.

"I hope this campaign will help everyone realise that they need to belt up every time they get in a car," he said.

You are twice as likely to die in a crash if you are not wearing a seat belt and about one life could be saved in Britain each day if everyone always wore a belt.

The THINK! campaign - which includes television, radio, cinema, and outdoor advertising - is based on detailed research into people's seat belt wearing habits which showed that people are less likely to wear seat beats on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, even though they are still risking their lives in these cases.

The advert is so realistic and graphic it can only be shown after 9pm. An edited version will be used for earlier showings - describing but not showing the damage to internal organs.

(PR/BMcC)

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