Half road fatalities don´t wear seat belt or crash helmet

HALF of the people killed in road accidents in the Balearics this year were not wearing a seat belt or using a crash helmet.
This was revealed in a report released yesterday by the Regional Traffic Police.
Of the 106 fatalities 53 were either not wearing a seat belt or not wearing a crash helmet.
Of the total fatalities very nearly half (52) were young people less that 30 years old, more than in the same period of 2004 (43 out of 114).
Majorca has the greatest number of deaths (72) but this is 14 less than in 2004.
Ibiza and Formentera have had 29 road deaths so far this year, 16 more than in 2004 with a significant rise in deaths for those less than 30 years old (15 as opposed to three last year). The reverse has happened in Minorca, where only five people have lost their lives this year, 10 less than last year, making it the only island where the number of road deaths among young people has fallen (four as opposed to eight last year). Of the total deaths on the roads, 69 were drivers, 20 were passengers, 16 were pedestrians and one was a cyclist. The majority of fatalities were men (80), as opposed to 26 women, and 14 of these were people over 65 years old. Figures recorded for accidents on all Spanish roads during the last public holiday period show that a third of the deaths were among drivers and passengers who were not wearing a seat belt. Also, in 45 percent of accidents, speeding was a recurrent contributory factor, according to the Assistant Traffic Director of the DGT, Federico Fernandez. After calling the figure of almost one hundred deaths during the 10 days of the holiday period “regrettable”, Fernandez said that the problem of road safety is of such proportions that it needs all of society to act responsibly on the roads to prevent accidents. In broadcasts on national radio, he said that although the administrative bodies were committed to solving this problem, “in the end it is the responsibility of society as a whole”. Fernandez also highlighted the effectiveness of special campaigns like the one currently in operation to do 15'000 alcohol tests on motorists per day.
He said that the percentage of positive results was small and the percentage had dropped from 3.5 to 2.5 since the measures were put in place, but it is an important measure to protect all road users.