[The seat belt: effect on the consequences of traffic accidents (author's transl)]

At the present time, more than 90% of the motor vehicles in the Federal Republic of Germany are equipped with seat belts. On the average, however, only one out of two drivers uses his belt. It has been established that the seat belt, considering the present rate of use, annually protects about 1700 car occupants from fatality and about 30,000 from injuries (resulting in economic savings of approx. DM 1.8 X 10(9)). If all car occupants were to observe seat-belt regulations, this gain in safety might be doubled. Experience of other countries indicates that the introduction of the fine would result in much better compliance with the regulation than has been observed thus far.