DEPUTY Prime Minister John Prescott and EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock have announced a Europe-wide campaign to encourage use of back seat belts. The '10 Seconds ... That Can Save Your Life' campaign supported by the European Commission, is being run in the UK the RAC and the AA.

It promotes proper use of safety equipment such as seat belts, head restraints and children's car restraints. Millions of advice leaflets will be circulated to help get the message across and, as part of the campaign, Toyota will put leaflets and stickers in every new model sold in Britain for the rest of this year.

According to the RAC at least 46 front seat passengers are killed every year in the UK as a result of back seat passengers being flung forward during car crashes - but less than half of adults bother to use rear seat belts. An RAC survey reveals that although only a small minority of drivers (8.5%) and passengers (9%) risk not wearing front seat belts, only 49% wear belts in the back.