Dentsu's Innovative Seatbelt Aims to Help Japanese Children to Protect Themselves

Despite the legal requirement to wear seatbelts in vehicle back seats, only around 30% of people in Japan use seatbelts on public roads, which is extremely low compared to the rest of the world. 

Approaching this problem from a family-based POV, the back seats are mainly used by children. 

Also, many children dislike wearing seatbelts and often remove them without their parents knowing.  And while realising that their children are in danger, many parents do not know what to do about this. This project aims to solve this social challenge.

Focusing on the fact that many parents have their children watch YouTube videos in cars, a device was designed where the action of taking off the seatbelt locks-up the app in use, which is unlocked when the seatbelt is put back on. When the belt is removed, this sets off a loud bell sound encouraging the child to put the seat belt back on.  The action of wearing a seatbelt was sublimated to an entertainment ‘switch’ for locking and unlocking their favorite smartphone app.  

Re-imagining a non-living safety device, the seatbelt, as a face, with the red button being the mouth, we added eyes to create a loveable character which children could easily get attached to. The action of putting on a seatbelt was transformed into a fun action in which Bellton ‘eats’ the insert plate. 

 

This characterisation approach was also used for the smartphone/tablet control system. In this way, the overall communication experience was carefully designed to reach out to children using a multi-dimensional format. The characterisation of seatbelts by designing an eye-shaped device brought about a sense of affinity and attachment in the hearts of children who do not like seat belts.  

 

In addition, the overall integrated design between the hardware (buckle design) and software (app) contributed to the success in changing the act of wearing a seatbelt into a positive impression, making the child think "I want to put it on by myself!"

This product, which encourages a child to buckle-up on one's own, is a fun solution that can lead to forming the habit of wanting to wear a seatbelt that continues into the child's future.