The use of seat belts in Italy is still not widespread, especially for passengers traveling in the back seat. The latest available data comes from a 2019 survey by the Italian National Institute of Health, as part of the Ulisse road safety project. On average, 67% of drivers or front-seat passengers wear seat belts. However, in the back seat, only 1 out of 10 passengers buckle up. Evidently, many not only underestimate the safety aspect but also ignore the obligation to wear seat belts in the back seats.
Why is the seat belt so important? In the event of an accident, anyone traveling without a seat belt will continue to move forward at the same speed as the car before the impact. If there is no airbag or if the device does not deploy, a violent impact against the steering wheel, dashboard, and windshield is inevitable, with the risk of even being thrown out of the vehicle. If the airbag does deploy, the force with which an unbelted person impacts the device could cause severe injuries.
The most frequent injuries are to the face: direct trauma to the bone structure, eye injuries related to wearing glasses, indirect injuries to the retina and optic nerve. Arm and shoulder injuries are also possible. It's no better for those traveling in the back seat: an unbelted passenger hits the front seat and goes over it, violently striking the person in the front seat. In the event of severe impacts, the impact against the front seat alone can cause very serious injuries. We will return to this important topic.
