Seatbelt accessory 'Buckle Buddy' for farm drivers sparks backlash from road safety activists

CapeTalk's John Maytham, standing in for Lester Kiewit, speaks to Mike Scriven, founder of Buckle Buddy South Africa and Alida Venter, CEO of Drive More Safely.

Listen below:

'Buckle Buddy' is a customisable accessory described as 'a compact vehicle insert accessory for passenger seats'. It's great for pet travel or securing gear and bags. It fits all buckles, without the need for tools.

"It's aimed mainly at farmers driving at slow speeds on private roads. It's illegal not to wear seatbelts on public roads, but on private roads, you're allowed not to drive with a seatbelt on... that's exactly what we're aiming for... to make the lives of farmers more convenient."

- Mike Scriven, Founder - Buckle Buddy South Africa

However, there is concern that this innovative accessory will be used by motorists who are not the intended audience.

"The marketing is targeted specifically towards farmers and people driving on farms... we also have got clearly labelled disclaimers on our website, on the ads themselves, and we have disclaimers that goes in every single box that's delivered to make sure the customer knows that Buckle Buddy is not to be used on public roads... we do not condone the use of Buckle Buddy on any public roads... I do think that seatbelts save lives, but when it comes to driving slowly on private farm roads, that's where Buckle Buddy can be beneficial, used responsibly and legally."

- Mike Scriven, Founder - Buckle Buddy South Africa

Alida Venter, CEO of Drive More Safely, weighs in with her opinion on the product and why she's against it.

"I grew up on a farm, and you use your seatbelt... he cannot control who's buying this. The National Road Traffic Act states that a public road is an open road that's commonly used by the public, and the public has the right of access. A private road has access control, and members of the public do not use this road. Most farm roads are public roads because the public can use them... It's only the road on your property and on the farm itself that's not a public road. So, if you're going to use this Buckle Buddy, he cannot predict that it's only farmers that's going to use it."

- Alida Venter, CEO - Drive More Safely

"The problem with this thing is, it's now branded, it's in the colours of your vehicle... firstly, insurance is not going to pay you out. Secondly, you're not going to have a claim with the RAF (Road Accident Fund)... this is a death trap for road users."

- Alida Venter, CEO - Drive More Safely

"It allows people now to not use the seatbelt and to take away that which is there for a purpose, and this is my fight on this... we are now going to have this in vehicles where people just buy this and not obey the law."

- Alida Venter, CEO - Drive More Safely

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