We fanned out to different parts of Singapore - Ang Mo Kio Street 61, Jalan Bintang in Bishan, outside Paragon in Orchard Road, Bukit Batok Central Link, near Block 9 in Commonwealth Avenue, and the junction of Marine Parade Road and Marine Parade Central.

We spent an hour at each location peering into cars that drove past.

Of the 1,311 cars that zoomed by, 144 (11 per cent) had drivers who did not buckle up.

Of the 653 cars which had a front-seat passenger, 142 (22 per cent) did not buckle up.

Back-seat passengers - found in 430 of the 1,311 cars - were even more indifferent to safety. Almost 70 per cent, or 299 out of the 430 cars, had back-seat passengers who did not buckle up.

Children, in particular, were put at risk by adults.

Instead of being strapped to a child seat, more than 10 babies and toddlers were spotted cradled in the lap of the front-seat passenger. Some adults even held the babies up to play with them.

Many of the children in the back of the car were also not buckled up. One child was seen standing on the seat talking and pointing things out to the driver, who replied but kept his eyes on the road.

One front-seat passenger discreetly buckled up upon noticing The Sunday Times team observing the car and making notes.

In comparison, the British have a strong culture of staying safe. A survey by the United Kingdom Department of Transport last August showed that 84 per cent of back-seat passengers wore seat belts and almost 95 per cent of drivers and front-seat passengers did the same.

Retiree K.B. Tan, 68, mistakenly believed that there was no need for back-seat passengers to belt up as 'the front seats will shield them'.

Taxi driver Sng Koon Tin, 59, said not belting up had become a habit which he would not change, unless a customer asked him to.

'I've been driving for 20 years already. Just be more careful,' he said.

Additional reporting by Aw Cheng Wei, Samantha Eng, Dhany Osman, Gabriel Yue and Alvin Lim

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