The Ethiopian Road Safety and Insurance Fund Service has announced the development of a new directive that will require all public transport vehicles to install high-quality standardized seatbelts for every passenger from the front seat to the back row.
The Ethiopian Road Safety and Insurance Fund Service stated that this directive is part of an ongoing national effort to reduce traffic accidents and is designed to enhance the contribution of vehicles to passenger safety.
According to W/ro Birkit Bahiru Head of the Road Safety Law Enforcement Desk at the Service, the new directive makes the use of seatbelts mandatory for all passengers in public transport vehicles, extending the requirement beyond the driver to include everyone from the front seat to the very back of the vehicle.
A significant challenge identified is that many seatbelts currently found in vehicles are of poor quality and lack the capacity to prevent injuries during accidents. To address this, the new directive mandates that all installed seatbelts must meet international safety standards.
Under this new rule, it will be mandatory for both newly imported vehicles and those assembled domestically to be equipped with standardized seatbelts. Furthermore, older vehicles currently in service will be required to have standardized seatbelts installed according to a set timeline.
The new directive has already been sent to the Ministry of Justice and it is expected to go into effect immediately upon approval.
The Service noted that it is currently conducting awareness-raising activities regarding the benefits and necessity of using seatbelts before the law is put into full practice.
Once this directive is implemented, it is expected to play a major role in significantly reducing the loss of life and physical injuries caused by traffic accidents involving public transport.
Previously, operations were governed by "Directive No. 44/2013 on the Requirement and Implementation of Seatbelts in Vehicles."
This former directive focused primarily on ensuring seatbelts were present for drivers to help reduce accidents, and legal action was taken against those who failed to comply with the law.
However,because many vehicles had seatbelts that were not truly protective or of poor quality, the new directive is being prepared to force all public transport vehicles to equip every passenger, from the front to the back, with functional, high-quality seatbelts.
In addition, the new directive is expected to play a significant role in ensuring road safety by extending the mandatory seatbelt requirement to all seats and ensuring the quality of the safety equipment.
