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?

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