When seat belts were first introduced, many years ago, there was a lot of controversy about them. Many people were reluctant to use them as they feared that in an accident they might be trapped and unable to escape from their vehicle if, for example, there was a danger of fire.

Over the years it has been proved without doubt that seat belts save far more lives than they put at risk. A whole series of hard-hitting public-information TV commercials have demonstrated the reasons for that.

Yet while the message seems to have been taken on board successfully as far as most drivers and front-seat passengers are concerned, there is still an unwillingness among some people to use the rear seat belts.

The effectiveness of these has been demonstrated yet again in the cases of Bradford couple Mark and Kath Mohamet, who survived a fatal accident when the taxi in which they were travelling was in a head-on collision with another car. Mrs Mohamet apparently felt very strongly about the need to use a seat belt and reminded her husband to fasten his. They have been told that although they both suffered serious injuries their lives were probably saved because they "belted up".

We extend our sympathies to the family of the driver of the other car, Mr Paul Gilliam, of Queensbury, while wishing Mr and Mrs Mohamet a good recovery from their injuries.

The accident in which they were all involved is yet another tragic statistic to add to West Yorkshire's long list. But it seems that without the use of those seat belts it could have been even worse.