85% of Ukrainians ignore seat belts, violating traffic rules and putting their lives at risk

More than 85% of drivers in Ukraine do not use seat belts, violating the Traffic Rules and endangering their lives and health. These results were shown by the study “Level of seat belt use among drivers in Ukraine”, conducted in the spring of 2017 by public organizations within the framework of the “For Safe Roads” Campaign.

The researchers conducted measurements in 20 cities of Ukraine and found that in none of these cities even half of motorists do not use seat belts. The best of the worst indicators are Kyiv (37.9% of drivers wearing seat belts), Dnipro (30.6%), Lviv (25.4%) and Pavlohrad (21.4%). A large group of cities has a use rate between 10% and 20% – These are Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Uzhhorod, Ivano-Frankivsk, Rivne, Kropyvnytskyi, Ternopil, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv. Less than one in ten uses seat belts in Kherson, Chernivtsi, Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv and Khmelnytskyi. Two small cities included in the study also have extremely low rates – Dolyna and Tulchyn.

Rating of the studied cities by the level of seat belt use among drivers

Some cities were not included in the study because it was not possible to find volunteers in them, or the volunteers found did not fulfill their obligations. These are the regional centers of Lutsk, Cherkasy, Odessa, Sumy, Poltava, Zaporizhia, Luhansk, Donetsk and cities in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The results of observations conducted by volunteers in the cities of Mariupol, Melitopol and Husyatin were not taken into account in the final results for methodological reasons.

The indicator for Ukraine of 14.85% is the average result of the level of seat belt use in the 20 cities studied, it does not take into account rural areas and differences in population between cities. According to the methodology, the study included all passenger cars (including taxis, police and other special vehicles) and non-routable minibuses. Trucks and public transport were not included in the calculation. In some cases, observers were unable to determine the fact of seat belt use due to dark tinting of car windows - the share of such cases was 6% on average. To simplify the calculation of the results, the authors of the study made a reasoned assumption that the percentage of seat belt use among drivers of these cars is the same as among other drivers in their city.

The study “Level of Seat Belt Use Among Drivers in Ukraine” was conducted by the non-governmental organization “Vision Zero” in cooperation with the Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law as part of the “For Safe Roads” Campaign in March-May 2017. The goal of the project was to identify what proportion of drivers of passenger cars in Ukraine actually use seat belts, observing the relevant paragraph of the Traffic Rules. The study was conducted in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization using the method of observing motorists. Observation sessions were conducted in 20 cities of Ukraine, including 16 regional centers. Trained observers with special questionnaires, usually in groups of two or three people, spent 4,632 minutes on city streets and recorded information about the actual behavior of 25,924 drivers. This study is planned to be made regular and conducted at least once a year. In subsequent waves, the organizers plan to cover all regions of Ukraine, as well as measure seat belt use among passengers in the front and rear seats of cars and the use of child seats.

Reference: Increasing the level of seat belt use in Ukraine is one of the goals of the “For Safe Roads” Campaign. Leaders of public organizations and people's deputies have already voiced proposals to raise the fine for this violation from 51 hryvnia to the approximate cost of one car refueling, that is, at least up to 1,000 hryvnia. They also ask the police to start conducting targeted campaigns to identify drivers who do not follow the rules on using seat belts in cars, and to actively cover these campaigns in the media so that road users feel that the state controls compliance with this rule. In addition, an educational video clip “Fasten your seatbelt!” has already been produced as part of the campaign, which has already been seen by more than 150 thousand people on the Internet and is planned to be broadcast on television soon.

Source: Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law