Seatbelts and child restraints on properly or $1161 fine

• New campaign highlights there's only one way to wear your seatbelt, properly.
• Parents and carers are encouraged to install child restraints correctly via new video series.
• Wear your seatbelt properly or face a $1161 fine and four demerit points.
• Drivers can also be fined if their passengers are incorrectly restrained.

Today marks the start of Queensland Road Safety Week 2023, with the theme 'road safety starts with me'.

One of the easiest, most important things anyone can do to keep themselves or their children safe on the roads is to wear an appropriate seatbelt or child restraint every trip, no matter how long or short.

Travelling unrestrained is one of the top five contributing factors to lives lost on Queensland's roads, with 30 per cent of fatalities either wearing a seatbelt incorrectly or not at all.

Last year, Queensland recorded its worst road toll in over a decade, with 297 lives lost. Additionally, more than 7,000 people are seriously injured on our roads each year.

Every life lost and serious injury has a tragic impact on individuals, families and communities across Queensland that continues long after a crash.

Mobile phone and seatbelt cameras are detecting more people wearing seatbelts incorrectly, with almost three-quarters of seatbelt offences detected for people not wearing their seatbelt properly, and only a quarter detected not wearing a seatbelt at all.

A new campaign highlighting the consequences of not wearing seatbelts properly will run from Monday 21 August until early November on catch up tv, online, social media, radio and outdoor advertising.

Beyond taking responsibility for our own safety on the roads, we must also ensure children are kept safe. For this reason, we have developed a new series of video guides to help parents and carers install and use child restraints correctly.

The series comprises 12 guides for different types of restraints from infant carriers to booster seats, as well as how to place your child in their restraint properly.

While child restraint use in Australia is relatively high, research shows many restraints are not attached to the vehicle seat correctly, not adjusted to fit the child correctly, or simply the incorrect seat type for the size of the child.

Drivers are responsible for themselves and all passengers including children being correctly restrained. Those who break the rules risk a $1161 fine and four demerit points, not to mention death and serious injury.

Quotes attributable to the Transport and Main Roads and Digital Services Minister Mark Bailey:

"This year's Queensland Road Safety Week focuses on what each of us can do to stay safe on the roads.

"Last year 297 people lost their lives on Queensland roads – the highest number in a decade. This year we have already lost far too many people the same way, and countless others with injuries.

"We can all do our part to stay safe while travelling on our roads, and Queensland Road Safety Week offers a reminder we can all play a part in staying safe and keeping others safe.

"Wearing a seatbelt properly is one of the quickest, easiest and most effective things you can do for your safety whether driving or travelling as a passenger.

"Would you rather spend $1161 on something you'd love or on a fine for not wearing your seatbelt properly? Would you rather wear your seatbelt properly, or risk serious injury in a car crash? These are the real, and serious consequences highlighted in a new $1.5 million road safety campaign.

“There's only one way to wear a seatbelt, with the sash part running from over your shoulder across your chest and above your stomach, the buckle low on your hip, and lap part across your pelvis and hips.

"When it comes to children, parents and carers want to do the right thing, and we want to make sure they are empowered to make the best safety decisions.

"This new video series highlights how to correctly and safety fit child restraints for children of all sizes, taking the mystery out of installing and using many of the different child restraints available.

"Drivers should ensure everyone is buckled up correctly before starting every journey. An incorrectly worn seatbelt or child restraint can have serious repercussions in a crash."

Quotes attributable to Kidsafe Qld CEO, Susan Teerds:

"We want to impress upon people to consider the child's age and their size.

"Consider for example, forward-facing restraints—just because a child is legally old enough to face forward in their restraint, they must meet the minimum height marker before forward facing and are actually safest if kept rear-facing as long as possible or for as long as they still fit their rear-facing restraint.

"The same goes for transitioning to an adult seatbelt when your child turns seven. Just because it is legal, doesn't mean they are big enough to come out of their child restraint and into an adult seat.

"In fact, children are typically not big enough to use an adult seat and seatbelt until around age 11 or 12, and fit will vary depending on the child's body geometry and the type of vehicle. That's why we strongly encourage parents to use the 5-step test to determine whether a child is big enough to progress to an adult seat in every vehicle they ride in.

"We want parents to make sure their child is in the right restraint for their size and that they are using it correctly, as these factors can influence the degrees of injury in the event of a crash."

Fast Facts

The seatbelts campaign and videos can be viewed here

The child restraint series, produced in partnership with Kidsafe Queensland, is available here.

Queensland Road Safety Week runs 21–25 August 2023.

Thirteen per cent of Queenslanders admit they wear seatbelts incorrectly (under the arm or sitting on the seatbelt), or not at all.

Fifteen per cent of Queensland drivers have been in a vehicle where passengers are incorrectly restrained.

Information provided by Queensland Health medical practitioners states if you are wearing the belt under your arm or looped under the arm, you could suffer injuries including fractures to the sternum, ribs, vertebra, skull, face and neck. The lungs, heart, oesophagus, stomach and bowel could also be injured. Your shoulder could be dislocated or fractured, and you could suffer nerve damage.

Those who hold the belt away from their body with, for example, their wrist, could also suffer the injuries above and sustain major soft tissue trauma.

In 2022, a total of 57,081 seatbelt infringement notices were issued to Queensland drivers. 51,352 of these were captured by mobile phone and seatbelt enforcement cameras, and 5,729 by police officers.

During 2022, 1,524 of the infringement notices issued to drivers in Queensland for restraint related offences involved children aged under 16.

During 2022-23, there were 13 child fatalities, which is 4.7 per cent of fatalities as a result of crashes in Queensland. This is five (27.8 per cent) fewer than the previous year and one (5.8 per cent) fewer than the previous five-year average.

Fines and demerit points apply for not wearing a seatbelt and for incorrectly fastened and adjusted seatbelts (for example a seatbelt worn under the arm).

The penalty for not wearing a seatbelt properly or at all is a $1161 fine and four demerit points.  A driver may be fined for each unrestrained or incorrectly restrained passenger in the vehicle. Passengers aged 16 years or older may be fined for not wearing a seatbelt or incorrectly wearing a seatbelt.

ENDS

Media contact – Minister Bailey office – 0419 288 284