Why should rear seatbelts be fastened even when you are driving alone in the car?

Wearing your seatbelt properly is something we must never forget, as failing to do so carries a €200 fine and the loss of four points from your driving licence. That said, there is a recommendation that, for the time being, carries no fine but that can help us in case of need. Why should rear seatbelts be fastened even when you are driving alone in the car?

The function of seatbelts is to minimise the injuries occupants may suffer in the event of an accident. As the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) has stated on numerous occasions, the benefit of the seatbelt is twofold, because it “prevents those it restrains from being thrown out of the vehicle and/or striking the hard parts of the cabin. It also protects the other occupants from the possible impact against the person it holds back”; this is what the DGT calls the elephant effect, which means that a loose object or person inside the vehicle can weigh tonnes at the moment of impact.

Fastening rear seatbelts: why should it be done?

Road safety experts recommend fastening the seatbelts of the rear seats even when you are travelling alone. However, this advice makes most sense when you travel with the boot full of luggage, shopping, etc.

In the event of a sudden braking or impact, objects in the boot could strike the back of the rear seat. It is important to remember here what the elephant effect involves: at a speed of 60 km/h, the impact of a 75-kilogram person against the front seat can equate to a force of 4.2 tonnes.

If the rear seatbelts are fastened at the moment of impact, even when no one is sitting in the back, they will help restrain that impact and minimise the risk of the load entering the cabin. For this reason, it is recommended to use the seatbelts in the rear seats even when travelling alone and with no load in the boot. In this way, in the event of a rear-end collision, the behaviour of the rear seat backrests will improve.

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