Taxi passengers, especially those who sit in the backseat, will be reminded to wear their seatbelts through a campaign launched by the Traffic Police, Singapore Road Safety Council and Liberty Insurance on Tuesday. All 16,000 ComfortDelGro taxis now have the seatbelts carrying safety messages installed in them.

The Traffic Police's commanding officer for road safety, Deputy Superintendent Soh Wan Khuan noted that many backseat passengers, compared to those who sit in front, are not in the habit of belting up. He added that wearing seatbelts saves backseat passengers especially because they do not have airbags for protection in the case of an accident

Mr Martin Bridger, chief executive of Liberty Insurance, said that with the recent slew of fatalities on Singapore roads, this campaign is "timely" to reinforce the importance of wearing seatbelts.

"Road traffic deaths and injuries are fast becoming a growing global epidemic. Global statistics show that every six seconds, someone is killed or injured on the world's roads," he said.