Watch the advertisement here (warning: explicit images)

A shocking new advertising campaign highlighting the consequences of not wearing a seat belt includes footage so violent it cannot be shown until after 9pm.

Launched yesterday by Road Safety Minister Jim Fitzpatrick, the short advertisement shows a head on collision between two cars. The camera travels inside the body of one driver to show graphic images of the potentially fatal damage caused to internal organs if a driver or passenger is not wearing a seat belt.

The £2.6m THINK! campaign was initiated in response to research suggesting that while very few people never wear a seat belt, many drivers and passengers occasionally do not. The campaign aims to communicate the risk of death or serious injury, even at everyday speeds. New statistics suggest that one life could be saved each day if all drivers and passengers used their seat belts every time they got in a car.

"Every day someone dies simply because they are not wearing a seat belt. That's a tragic waste that could be avoided if everyone took the simple step of belting up whenever they got in a car” said Mr Fitzpatrick.

"If you have a crash without wearing a seat belt you actually experience three crashes, even at everyday speeds like 30mph. First, your car crashes and stops. Second – because there's nothing to stop you moving – your body carries on and hits the inside of the car. Third, you stop but your internal organs keep moving, hitting the inside of your body and tearing under the force of the impact. I hope this hard-hitting new campaign will help everyone realise that they are risking their life whenever they get in a car and don't put their seat belt on."

Seat belts have prevented an estimated 60,000 deaths and 670,000 serious injuries since 1983 when they were made mandatory for drivers and front seat passengers.

The new campaign will aim to reach motorists through television, radio, cinema, and online advertising and will commence this week.