A study led by Dr. José M. Martínez-Sánchez, the Head of the UIC Biostatistics Department and a researcher at the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) – Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), concludes that 32.2% of back-seat passengers ride without a seatbelt in the city of Barcelona. The number rises dramatically when travelling by taxi (78.7%) and in commercial vehicles (79.6%). Researchers from the ICO-IDIBELL, the UIC and the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) participated in the study.

The study, recently published in the scientific journal Gaceta Sanitaria, determines that 2.2% of drivers and 3.3% of front-seat passengers do not wear seatbelts. The study also gathered information about mobile phone use while driving and found that 3.8% of drivers of private cars, taxis and commercial vehicles use a mobile phone while driving. The percentage is highest among women (5.5%) and young drivers (6.4%).

The study used a sample of 2,442 cars, commercial vehicles and taxis in the city of Barcelona in 2011. “Traffic accidents are an important public health issue and are responsible for the loss of a large number of potential years of life. Many of these accidents could be avoided through modifying driving behaviours, such as wearing seatbelts and not using mobile phones while driving”, said Dr. Martínez-Sánchez.

The study was carried out as part of the work done by the Tobacco Unit of the ICO-IDIBELL-UB, which has a research area on smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke in vehicles. “And that’s where we came up with the idea to study other driving behaviours that can endanger health”, explained el Dr. Martínez-Sánchez.