Buckling up: Northlanders are worst

Police are cracking down on seatbelts.

Northland has the worst record in New Zealand for people not wearing seatbelts in fatal and serious-injury crashes, prompting a warning from a senior Northland St John paramedic for people to buckle up and save lives.

A New Zealand Transport Agency report showed that between 2009 and 2013, in fatal and serious accidents, the proportion of those not wearing seat belts at the time of a crash in Northland was the worst in the country, at 10 per cent, while the New Zealand average was 6 per cent.

Over the period, out of the 655 fatal and serious injury crashes that took place in Northland, 65 people were not wearing a seatbelt.

St John ambulance staff saw first-hand the benefits of wearing seatbelts and the consequences of not buckling up at two crashes in Northland recently.

Acting district-operations manager Mark Going said crews were called to a crash south of Whangarei last Thursday in which four people, two of whom were not restrained, including a child, were taken to Whangarei Hospital with serious injuries.

It happened at an intersection on SH1 near Tauroa St in an 80km/h zone. Firefighters had to remove the top of the vehicle to free two other people.

On Saturday, in similar circumstances, two cars collided on Kerikeri Rd about 2pm. However, all drivers and two children were wearing seatbelts and no one was taken to hospital.

"They walked away and were able to go home instead of heading off to hospital in a serious condition," Mr Going said.

"We can see cars that are really mangled and yet people can walk away from it because they took the time to wear a seatbelt."

As an intensive-care paramedic, Mr Going has seen unrestrained children end up under the seat of the driver with serious injuries after not being securely belted in. The message was simple: "Wearing a seatbelt can be the difference between life and death."

While Northland had a high number of deaths and serious crashes among those not wearing a seatbelt, Gisborne was next, followed by Hawke's Bay and Bay of Plenty.

Young Northland drivers aged 15-24 accounted for nearly two-fifths of those not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, while most of the crashes took place on Fridays and Saturdays between 9am and 12pm, followed by 6pm to 9pm.

Northland Police were asked to comment on the wearing of seatbelts but did not respond before deadline.

Safekids Aotearoa says for children up to 14 years, one of the leading causes of injury involves children as passengers in vehicles, with about 18 deaths a year and 26 children admitted to hospital every month.

Whangarei and Kaipara Road Safety education manager Gillian Archer said that it was important to make sure seatbelts were correctly fitted for children: "It's extremely important for booster seat[s] and seatbelts to fit correctly on those little delicate bodies."