Seatbelts save lives: Safety warnings as road toll rises

Crash survivor Sarah Dean (Newshub.)
Crash survivor Sarah Dean (Newshub.)

There have been no reports of serious crashes this Labour weekend, but that doesn't change the fact New Zealand's road death toll is steadily rising.

So far this year, there have been 260 road fatalities, and authorities are reverting to the basics when it comes to road safety messages.

"Buckle up, make it click, always wear your seat belt," says AA's Simon Douglas.

"It's one of the easiest things you can do and it's one of the oldest messages in road safety."

It's as old as one Ronald McDonald ad: "Click goes your seatbelt, click, click, click."

"Right back to Ronald McDonald and the 'make it click' ads, and we genuinely thought that we had the message clearly across to the driving public," says Mr Douglas.

But the AA says this year, nearly 70 people who weren't wearing seatbelts have died on our roads.

"Unfortunately in the first nine months of this year we've seen an increase in the number of people killed and injured in their cars, not wearing seatbelts," Mr Douglas says.

It's a priority for police officers across the country this long weekend, and it's a real concern for the Ministry of Transport.

"Everyone needs to step up and make sure they're buckled up and their friends and family are buckled up as well. It can quite literally be life-saving," says the Ministry of Transport's Brent Johnston.

It seems obvious - a two-second action that could save your life or possibly save you a life-long injury. So why are people not buckling up?

"It could be they're just taking short trips; it could be they've gotten into a bad habit; it could be they're forgetful, they're distracted," says Mr Douglas.

Two-time car crash survivor Sarah Dean used to be complacent about wearing her seatbelt, but thankfully not on the day it truly mattered.

"I felt that, seriously, in my first accident, that would've saved my life," she says.

She organised today's inaugural Road Accident Remembrance Day in Christchurch to remember those whose lives weren't saved, seatbelts or not.

Newshub.