EXPERTS call seatbelts the most effective and easiest way to reduce traffic injuries and deaths. Local drivers and car manufacturers, however, seem largely oblivious, say medical and government professionals.

Dr Thit Lwin, head of Yangon General Hospital’s Traumatology Unit, said local drivers have many misconceptions about the safety or usefulness of a seatbelt.

“Most drivers don’t want to use seatbelts because they are afraid of being trapped in a burning or submerged car, but this type of mishap is the least likely to happen. Statistics show that no such accidents happened last year,” he said.

Figures released by the Traffic Police Force showed that a total of 906 road accidents occurred last year, causing 98 deaths and 1359 injuries.

He said that even when such an accident does occur, passengers are far safer with a seatbelt because it can keep them from being knocked unconscious and they can get out a lot faster, as modern seatbelts are designed for easy and immediate release.

“[In an accident], the car stops in the first tenth of a second, but passengers keep going at the same rate they were going in the car until something stops them – the steering wheel, dash board or windshield – if they’re not wearing their safety belts,” he said.

Safety researchers around the world have demonstrated that seatbelts are real life savers. Seatbelts help prevent fatalities and reduce the incidence of serious injuries in all types of crashes, whether head-on, rear-end, side impact or rollover.

U Aung Myint, director of the Ministry of Railways Transportation’s Road Administration Department, said, “We need to raise the general public’s awareness of seatbelts as a road safety issue because knowledge that wearing seatbelts reduces the risk of fatal or serious injury is the key motivator to behavioral … change.”

He said people will be more likely to buckle up if police start enforcing safety belt laws. But he added that strategy of enforcement should be combined with education given through the media and the process of licensing drivers.

Education can help eclipse any excuse for avoiding seatbelts, he said, as wearing a seatbelt is one of the simplest and most effective ways of protecting oneself as a driver or passenger.

U Myo Thant, a taxi driver who has been driving for nearly 10 years, is the kind of driver that Dr Thit Lwin and U Aung Myint are hoping such education may change.

U Myo Thant said he believes that as long as he drives slowly, he can ensure that accidents will not happen to him.

“My good driving record will certainly help me avoid accidents. Even though my taxi has a seatbelt, I detached it and left it behind because I thought it was unnecessary for low-peed driving,” he said.

The Road Administration Department has issued licences to 1.7 million drivers, about 440,000 of whom are operating on Yangon’s roads.

Meanwhile, the country also faces a challenge in convincing local car manufacturers to make the installation of seatbelts standard on every car.

U Myint Swe, from Mandalar Myint Company, said, “Our cars don’t have seatbelts unless the buyers request them particularly because fixing seatbelts in a car is not mandatory for manufacturers or drivers.”

He added that once seatbelts are widely available in the market and when installing them becomes mandatory, the company plans to change its policy and start installing them in every car.

Prices of seatbelts vary depending on the type and brand of car. Suzuki belts are about K30,000 each, while second-hand belts range from between K5000 and K8000 on local markets.