Quite a shocking statistic.
New research on attitudes towards to motor safety by Ireland has shown that 33% of young adults admit that they don’t wear a seatbelt while driving.
The study, which was conducted by insurance company Aviva, found that almost half (48%) of 25-34 year-olds admitted to using their phone while sat at traffic lights.
The survey also found that over one in four (27%) of 18-24 year-olds felt unsafe as a passenger due to the driver being on their phone while driving.
Meanwhile, 61% of people aged 18-24 said that they would not tell a driver that they felt unsafe in their car.
Aviva’s survey comes on the same day that they launched a new road safety campaign that will see students experience a virtual reality car crash.
This campaign marks the first time that Road Safety Officers will use virtual reality headsets as a road safety training tool.
Speaking to JOE about the launch of the campaign at the event, Lord Mayor Paul McAuliffe said that he believes the use of technology could prove to be extremely beneficial in ensuring that young people are aware of the dangers of driving recklessly.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to use technology to demonstrate to young adults the impact of poor driver behaviour. It was really shocking for me to learn that one in three people don’t wear seatbelts. I think that’s an amazing statistic given how far we’ve come in terms of road safety.
“If we can reinforce that message, if we can say to them when they’re in the car with their friends it’s okay to say ‘Look, you’re not driving safely, let me out’, to make them brave enough to say you should be driving safely.”
