Now in retirement and culling my files in the process of downsizing I came upon the following letter from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents dated 7 July 1981 shortly before Parliament was to vote on a seat belt law, and encouraging Parliament to vote for the law:
TO ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT
Dr. Adams has recently published a paper advancing the thesis that the wearing of seatbelts may actually increase road accidents by encouraging a sense of false security. His paper presents road accident trends in several foreign countries to support his view. His paper requires detailed analysis. For the time being his thesis remains unproven.
25 years on RoSPA claims that the law has saved 60000 lives. Has it?