Determinants of the Use of Safety Restraint Systems in Italy

Wearing a safety restraint system is one of the most effective measures to substantially reduce the risk of serious or fatal accidents. Despite their benefits, a survey in 2015 revealed that on average 62 out of 100 Italian front car occupants wore their seat belt and only 15% of the rear seat passengers were regularly wearing their seat belt. According to several studies, one's (driving) behaviour is based on a combination of attitudes toward the behaviour, subjective norm and perceived behavioural control. The present study aims at understanding factors contributing to the low wearing rates in Italy. The data used are based on a questionnaire survey carried out among a representative sample of more than 1.000 Italian drivers within the ESRA project (European Survey of Road users' safety Attitudes). The survey involved 17 European countries and covered several themes on (un)safe traffic behaviour and attitudes among which those related to the use of seat belts and child restraint systems. Two methods of investigation were adopted: the comparison between the Italian situation with the European best performers, pointing out the relevant difference with the included selected European Countries, and the use of regression models to study the association between several explanatory variables and self-declared behaviours related to the use of safety restraint systems. The main results show a high acceptability of risky behaviour in Italy and a relevant contribution of age and gender in shaping attitudes towards unsafe traffic behaviours. A number of recommendations are proposed to change people's unsafe behaviour and attitudes in Italy, providing both enforcement and voluntary (e.g. campaigns, education and training, incentives) measures.