A shocking new Think! campaign to highlight the deadly consequences of not always wearing a seat belt was launched in the UK on Monday by Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick.

New statistics show one life could be saved each day if all drivers and passengers belted up every time they got in a car.

Graphic images of the fatal damage caused to internal organs are shown in a new TV advert to be broadcast in the UK highlighting the three devastating crashes experienced in a road accident if drivers and passengers are not wearing a seat belt.

They are risking death or serious injury, even at everyday speeds like 30mph.

"If you have a crash without wearing a seat belt you actually experience three crashes," Fitzpatrick explained. "First, your car crashes and stops. Second, because there's nothing to stop you moving, your body carries on and hits the inside of the car. Third, you stop but your internal organs keep moving, hitting the inside of your body and tearing under the force of the impact."

Seat belts have prevented an estimated 60,000 deaths and 670,000 serious injuries since 1983 when seat belts were made mandatory for drivers and front seat passengers in the UK.

The £2.6 million campaign, which includes television, radio, cinema, ambient and online advertising, is based on detailed research into people's seat belt wearing habits. It showed that people are less likely to wear seat belts on low speed, short journeys on familiar roads, even though they are still risking their lives in these cases.

The advert is so hard-hitting it can only be shown after 9 p.m. An edited version has been produced for earlier showings.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.