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Safety belts and child seats

Safety belts and child seats in vehicles are an effective protection against injuries in the event of a traffic accident. Since 1975, the BASt has been observing whether drivers and front-seat passengers actually fasten their seat belts. Rear-seat passengers have been under observation since 1985. Since 1991, the observations have been extended to include the age-appropriate safety of children in cars. Seat belt use by truck drivers in road haulage has been recorded since 2003.

Despite the introduction of the compulsory use of seat belts for drivers and front-seat passengers on 1st January 1976, seat belts have only been used by about one in two persons. It was only with the introduction of penalty fines for non-use of seatbelts that the figure skyrocketed to over 90% - today it is almost at 100%. The compulsory use of seat belts for rear-seat passengers was introduced on 1st August 1984. The proportion of persons wearing seatbelts has been continually rising – from less than 20% since the introduction of penalty fines on 1st July 1986 to also nearly 100% today.

Since 1st April 1993, children in cars have had to be properly restrained. This means that each child, whether in the front or the back, must be restrained according to age and height. Practically all children now wear seat belts, and some 90% are in the proper child seat. The use of suitable child restraint systems is strongly age-dependent.

More detailed information

  • The current restraint figures are published at regular intervals in the series "Daten & Fakten kompakt" (Data & Facts Compact).