Should seat belts be compulsory?

Belt up in Kenya's new-look Matatus

Most people who die in road accidents have no access to a car.

Three thousand people die every day across the world, whilst 10 times that number are seriously injured.

Sharing a potholed highway in Africa you have trucks, buses, handcart pullers, motorcyclists, shared taxis, overcrowded mini-buses, private cars, cyclists, pedestrians and animals, with everyone moving at a different speed.

Recent road safety measures in Kenya have largely been successfully imposed. All of the country's 40,000 minibus taxi (matatu) drivers are now obliged to cut the number of seats in each vehicle, to install seat belts for all passengers and a speed limiter which costs around $300. The seat belts range between $12 and $20 each.

These are expensive measures. But it is generally accepted that the best way of improving road safety is to reduce the speed and volume of traffic.

And yet everything about the automobile industry, which is the biggest industrial employer in the world, encourages people to buy more cars and drive fast.

If trends continue, by 2020 it is predicted that road traffic injuries will kill more people than malaria, tuberculosis and Aids.

Should African countries go down the Kenyan route?

Is it enough or even practical that seat belts be made compulsory?

Do you have a personal story to share?

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This debate is now closed. Find your comments below:

A much better method of reducing traffic is to simply make sure there is no fuel in the country. No traffic, no accident!
A C Mupasi, Zimbabwe

The greyhound buses here in the US do not have seat belts for each passenger, yet they are still one of the safest means of transportation.
L. Isang Akpan, Nigeria/USA

In Namibia it's law or you pay a N$300.00 fine both passengers and driver. It works.
Berhilde, Windhoek,Namibia

My Company operates a "No seat belt, no travel" policy which saved the lives of two of our staff late last year when their vehicle was involved in a roll-over accident. Had they not been wearing seat belts, they would have died.
Michael Morse, Nigeria

Seat belts are useless. They give the drivers a false sense of safety while risking the lives of others in the back seats.
AC Munthali, Malawi

By enforcing seat belts, it means that you have the same reckless, ignorant driver only now he is wearing a belt!
Ali Shikely, USA / Kenya

Could the seat belt become a restraining leash in a situation where one has to get away fast from the scene of an accident?
Steve Uduh, Nigeria

In a continent that recently had the highest genocide rate (Rwanda), has the highest murder rate (South Africa), the worst current dictator (Zimbabwe) and the highest poverty rate, compulsory wearing of seat belts seems an incidental issue......
Joe Mandebvu, Australia

Great to see that Africa is paying attention to these issues and I hope we can keep on making positive changes to our status quo.
Tungo, Angola

I think seat belts to Kenya are like gold. Anyone who has taken a matatu and seen how people are packed like potatoes, some even hanging on the side or riding the roof tops, will agree seat belts bring sanity to a poor transportion system.
Patrick Mwa, U.S.A

African lives are precious, lets keep each of Mother Africa's kids safe.
Vivian, Miami (ghanaian)

Here in Mozambique the Minister of Transport and Communications launched a campaign called "stop blood on our roads". But the situation still prevails.
Leonel Muchano, Maputo/Mozambique

In many parts of the continent there are rules about the driver buckling up but not the passengers. It should be extensive to all.
Daniel Rana, Angola

Here in Rwanda, seatbelts are compulsory for the driver and the front-seat passenger next to the door in the case of omnibuses. However, the front-seat passenger in the middle does not belt up. I still can't understand whether the hapless passenger is more resilient than the rest in case of a crash.
Mugenzi, Rwanda

If you have never been to another firm you will always believe that your father's firm is the biggest, says a proverb from the Yoruba people of Nigeria. I wish my sister Helen from Uganda should visit the South Eastern part of Nigeria before justifying that Ugandan roads are the worst. Let's not only make seat belts compulsory, but also vehicle air bags that protect the driver/passenger in case of impact.
Denola, Lagos< Nigeria

I have reason to believe that Ugandan roads are the most dangerous in the whole of Africa. Until the government begins educating people about road safety and to value their lives it will only get worse. Look at how Aids education has been so effective.
Hellen Kerali, Uganda/USA

Unfortunately the new rules have meant redundancy for touts who have now turned to carjacking and burglaries. And the government are taking too much time to implement security measures - it's annoying! The system can work but the knots need to be tightened further.
Eden, Kenya

The main issues here are potholes,overspeeding, overloading and our TRAFFIC POLICE. As long as African police hands remain open to accepting 'Kitu Kidogo' (bribes), the trend of death resulting from our roads will remain the same or increase regardless of whether seat belts are used or not.
Monyoro Alex, Sudanese in Australia.

More emphasis should be made by the various driving school teachers on the dear need of using a seat belt while driving.
Paul Lasi, Germany

More is required. We should aim to reduce accidents, not just the casualties. Bad roads; poorly-maintained vehicles and bad driving habits are some of the main problems. Motorcycle taxis (popularly called Okada in Nigeria) should be banned. They are a menace.
Dele Aloko, Nigeria

Isn't that the first thing you have to do - put on your seatbelt - when going for your driving test?
Nadia Maritz, South Africa

From my observation the seat belts have reduce overcrowding in public transport, the speed governors have installed a lot of discipline. This can be seen in Mombasa and other towns in Kenya
Mohamed Shariff, Kenya

The use of safety belt is not common in most of the third world countries by motorist because there is no enforcement from the government when compared to developed countries. It is seen as a form of decoration in the car.
Paul Ulasi, Germany

How will such regulations work in our rural areas? It is not uncommon to find an old dilapidated steel structure being the only source of transportation. And our government cannot afford to replace these death trap wagons.
Robert Opoku, Ghanaian in Sweden

It is a good idea to introduce seatbelts but it will become another venue for corruption and bribery. Transport and road licences need to be regulated and the number off passengers per car strictly imposed.
Georges Manfouo, Cameroon/Uganda

In a country like Sierra Leone, where 90% of vehicles on roads are second or even third hand and where the inspection of some of the vehicles for registration is often only done through paper work, the chances of minimizing injuries and of surving a head-on collision would only be possible with the use of seatbelts.
Chris Teh, Sierra Leone

Thank God that our people in Africa are now taking the right steps to save lives.
Emmanuel Oyekunbi, Nigerian in USA

I just lost a young friend who flew through the wind shield and landed on the road, with the car somersaulting and landing on top of him. Had he been wearing his seat belt, I doubt that would have happened. Now we are left with his young wife and three children.
Muyiwa, Nigeria

I believe very strongly that not only should seat belts be made compulsory but also that more stringent driving tests and exams should have to be passed by all drivers in Africa. In addition the roads need to be expanded, repaired, maintained and new roads built where necessary.
Oladimeji Amao, Nigeria

Seat belts are not the answer to road carnage in Kenya. Rather, over speeding, carrying beyond capacity and lack of respect for traffic rules are the main causes of deaths. Poor roads are also to blame, but not as much as the above factors. Law enforcers must treat disobedience to traffic rules as a crime equal to murder!
Mathenge Mucege, Kenya

Seat bealts and speed governors will definitely reduce the impact of sudden breaking and accidents. Overcrowding is unhygienic and polluting too. Life is more precious than the costs incurred.
Malinda Harrahs, Kenyan in Germany

The current Kenya government should be HUGELY AND LOUDLY applauded for taking these drastic and positive measures to stem the river of blood too many reckless and often stoned drivers have created. Too many African countries face the same tragic daily news: another minibus crashes and XXX number of people have died. Keep up the great work!
Faye Koech, Kenya and USA

I only wish to argue that the cost of fitting a speed governor and the seat belts is not prohibitive as the Matatu owners have claimed. These people earn up to 1000 dollars per month, so a permanent investment of 400 shouldn't be seen as too high especially if it can save lives.
Chatari, Germany

I think Kenya is doing wonderful things for its people. I hope and pray that all Kenyans join their hands and rebuild their country by taking every step neccessary.
Deinuja, Canada

I lived in Kenya for the best part of my teenage years. I used the minibuses to travel to and from Kakuma Refugee Camp and various cities. Every journey I took was a risky venture because the minibuses were always loaded beyond their maximum capacity. Seat belts were out of the question. Also involved is the profit drive. Then there's the issue of roads. It's imperative that they are repaired and maintained to make commuting safer.
Marial Wuoi, USA/Sudan

Thanks to Mr. Kibaki for the changes in Kenya!!! If Africans Leaders would follow in his footsteps there would be a reduction of the mortality rate.
Peter Dut Angon, Sudanese/USA

Yes indeed. A human life is worth a lot more than the price public transportation companies will pay to make their automobiles safe and passenger friendly. Anyway, they will transfer the cost to the public and we are more than willing to pay a little extra for the opportunity to live longer.
Hauza, USA/Ethiopia

Manufacturers should be prohibited from producing high horsepower vehicles that cannot ever be driven lawfully at the maximum speeds so many are capable of. Time and again, adverts for cars focus on the high speed of conventional cars. The adverts themselves should be outlawed.
Jim Nickerson, USA

The facts are irrefutable. Seat belts save lives. There should be no debate. Fit all vehicles with belts and make drivers and passengers wear the belts.
Jakamser Jakodondi, USA

I lived in Guinea-Conakry for 3 and a half years and had two friends killed and knew many others who had friends and family killed in accidents as well. I've also seen seat belts save lives in Europe and America. This is one area where I think, "Yes" please do this and please don't think of it as a "idea" imposed on Africans by the "West". It is new technology that works for the whole world.
Beverly Roberts, France

Yes, I think all African countries should go down the Kenya way. In Zambia all public buses have been ordered to remove some seats in the buses to limit the number of passengers on each trip. I just don't know how the public buses can put in seat belts for every passenger! Sounds a bit impossible to me.
Muzinge Nampito, Lusaka, Zambia

I think it is a matter of saving lives rather than just making profit. African should realise that road carnage is the main cause of death, therefore seat belts should not be optional.
PatrickL Lokonyen, USA

The dodging of potholes at a speed of 60 kph can still cause a car to lose control and at the same speed, a drunken driver can cause a lot of damage. Road maintenance has to be a priority and stringent laws on drunk driving must be enforced.
Anthony Gacheru, Uk

I think the step Kenya has taken is a bold move towards taming the industry that has for years operated without rules. Matatu operators profits have always come before safety.
Charles, USA

Seat belts should NOT be compulsory! Here in the states, the law requires us to wear them. I believe it is completely wrong. People should have the right to decided for themselves to wear the belt. If you die, then its your fault...the result of your own decision making. I don't need the government to think for me.
Dave P., USA

Our parents are tired of crying and we already have many orphans because of the numerous reckless and drunk drivers we have on our roads. It never hurts to copy what is right.
Joachim Arrey, Ossing, Cameroon

Africans should wake up from their slummber. Seat belts should wake up, the sleeping traffic laws of african road.
Scott Odiase, Nigerian in Bologna, Italy

Yes, of course. Not only for the drivers, but including the back seat passengers. Remember, there's something money can't buy.. your life!!
Khairul Khalid, Malaysia

During my wedding in Nairobi I was driven to church in a rented taxi. When I put on my seatbelt the driver gave me a hostile look and suggested that I did not trust his driving. On arrival at church I was horrified to realize a brown band of dirt across my tuxedo and shirt. Obviously the seatbelt hadn't been used at all. Along with gadgets the government must also embark on an education campaign.
James Sang, Kenya

The use of seat belts and speed governors to prevent the prevalent road carnage is like immunisation against a deadly malady.
George Kyalo Mutua, KENYA

Compulsory seat belts will not stop innocent children being knocked down, they will not stop head-on collisions that come as a result of pot holes and they will not make the current "DMC" vehicles on African roads roadworthy.
Kateihwa Graham, Mbarara-Uganda

Yes this debate is welcomed - I'm a Kenyan myself and I use public transport to my office. But the problem in Kenya are not the seatbelts so much as the roads. I think the Government should copy the India style of transport, and expand the railway network.
Daniel Kibaga, Kenya

In my country it's compulsory for drivers to use the seat belts, but only a few do it.
Olabisi Adesina, Nigeria

Seat belts may be regarded as an expensive measure but life is more expensive.
Joe Harris, Liberian in USA

It is a fact that African governments have money to pour into wars. They should definitely have money to put into life saving measures.
Wangeshi Gatheru, Kenya

Since the Federal Road Safety Commission made seat belts compulsory in Nigeria in January 2003, it is now common to see commercial bus drivers strapping a caricature semblance of a seat belt to their seats. If it wasn't important, car manufactures will not fit them in cars.
Chinedu Ibeabuchi, Lagos Nigeria

Installing seat belts in minibuses and taxis as well as restricting the number of passengers, means reduction in the amount the police officials will earn per day from drivers in Cameroon. In Bamenda, police officers are called CFA 500, for the amount they always ask for. The police officers will start asking the drivers for documents and sets of spanners that do not exist and it will all take more time.
Tangang Protus Chungong, Bamenda Cameroon.

In Senegal, just after the Joola tragedy, many public transport vehicle owners self-imposed limits on how many passengers they would allow in their vans. After about two weeks, things were "back to normal" - the car rapides were packed, the back doors wide open, and no sign of seat belts.
Leonore, USA

Bravo Kenya Bravo. Thanks for taking the lead. I hope other African countries will follow suit.
J. Mensah, USA/Ghana

Private commercial vehicles need to belong to an identifiable transport association who can then exert more control over their drivers. The main cause of accidents in African countries are bad driving habits and in some cases absolutely no regards for the recognised highway code. The courts should give stiffer penalties for irresponsible behaviour.
Kobby, Ghana-USA

The seat belts need to be manufactured in-country or imported in a cheap way to make them affordable.
Sheku M. Jalloh, Gambia

The fact is you can equip all the vehicles in Africa with seatbelts but you would need to address drunk driving, uninsured vehicles, overloading and corruption.
Dr. Manson Sesay, U.S.A.

Buses here in France have no seat belts neither do the underground trains (Metro) and yet life goes on!
Chidi Nwamadi, France/Nigeria

Our roads are not the finest in the world, coupled with that some half-baked driving and you've have created an ever busy slaughter house.
Tony Izuogu, Ghana/Nigerian)

It puzzles me to read that people in their right minds will be debating on the importance of seat belts... that's similar to sticking a hand in a hot oven to see if it will get burnt.
Kondiwani Gonani, Malawi/ Brazil

Let it be compulsory to have seatbelts, but also: to honour people instead of making them stand for long hours; to reduce corruption from traffic police; stop theft from pocket pickery; prevent chances of catching communicable diseases; and increase arrival at work on time. Let's think instead of grab to own!
Ngobei L. Shamata, Tanzania

I am a Kenyan currently living in Korea, and l think what my country is doing should be applauded. I have seen seat belts save lives. So, buckle up Africa.
Hilary Kimuyu, Kenya/Korea

Bravo Kenya!!!!! I never feel comfortable riding in a vehicle without one.
Patrick Kwame Amihere, Sierra Leonean currently working in Sri Lanka)

Transport is key to unlocking the economic potential of Africa. I strongly support the Kenyan direction on enhancing road safety. I think it is also a starting point to attract investments in the sector, like the US Greyhound buses. The only thing is that Matatus become unsustainable units of transport due to costs, and with the limited carrying capacity that seat belts enforce, so in the end it might give way to a larger and more organised system.
Dr Sam Kareithi, South Africa

The Nigeria Road Safety Corps fined me One Thousand Naira ($9) beause a passenger seated next to the driver was without a seat belt.
Sola Ayandele, Nigeria