Police and the Herald are calling on all Kiwis to belt up in a bid to prevent further deaths. File photograph
Police and the Herald are calling on all Kiwis to belt up in a bid to prevent further deaths. File photograph
In the last five years, over 300 people who died in New Zealand crashes were not wearing their seat belt.
Most of those deaths were in 2016.
The Herald, partnered by the New Zealand Police has launched Belt Up - a four day series about seatbelt safety aiming to raise awareness and improve safety for all Kiwis on our roads.
Police say many of the 93 people who died in crashes last year while not properly restrained, could have survived had they been wearing a seatbelt.
Today we find out what is happening out on our roads.
You wake up in the morning but you are stuck in your bed.
You can't get up, go to the bathroom, jump in the shower.
You can't make your morning coffee, you can't get dressed, you can't even sit up.
You are bedridden, dependent on your family - husband, wife, parents, children - to feed, clothe, bathe and toilet you.
Now imagine if you had a choice of waking up like this for the rest of your life, or putting on your seatbelt.
Constable Paul Hayward knows far too many people who made the wrong choice, who didn't belt up, who are now living with the lifelong consequences of that.
And it frustrates the hell out of him.
Hayward is a serious crash investigator for the Waitemata police, tasked with finding out the how and why of fatalities and incidents where people are severely maimed.
"All crashes that involve occupants not wearing seatbelts are a waste," he said.
"It's just such a simple act that can save you from a world of hurt.
"If more people wore their seatbelts and more carseats were fitted correctly we'd be going to a lot less families and informing them that their loved one is not with us anymore - or in some cases, that they've suffered such injuries where they're still here but they'll need 24/7 care for the rest of their lives."
Hayward has attended countless crashes with multiple victims where those wearing belts survived and the unrestrained were killed or sustained horrendous injuries.
"What it comes down it to is people who haven't put on their seatbelts have been either very seriously injured or paid the ultimate price and have died.
"In some cases people have walked away from the crash, but the person who wasn't wearing a seatbelt has been thrown from the vehicle onto the road surface or through the windscreen."
One of the crashes Constable Paul Hayward investigated. A teen wearing a seatbelt walked out of this wreckage, another who was not restrained was killed. Photograph supplied
Hayward cannot fathom why anyone getting into a car wouldn't belt up.
"One guy I knew of who was a snowboarder, he was semi-professional, really outdoorsy, but because he wasn't wearing a seatbelt when he crashed, now he's bedridden and effectively for the rest of his life all he will see is his ceiling," he said.
"There have been a number of crashes where people haven't been wearing a seatbelt and they have survived - but those people who have survived have sustained significant injuries, some of them life changing.
"Some of these people haven't been able to walk again, some of these people require 24/7 care, some are basically a vegetable.
"So with that in mind why wouldn't you hop in the car and put your seatbelt on if that's the one thing that could be saving you from all that heartache?
"It's not just a case of not wearing a seatbelt and you may lose your life- what about the people who are left behind? What about the significant injuries suffered by people who don't wear their seatbelts and their loved ones basically have to look after them for the rest of their lives."
Hayward, along with hundreds of other SCU staff across the country, are called in to investigate any crash where a person is seriously injured or killed.
One of the first things investigators look at is seatbelts, and it's easy for them to establish whether the victim had belted up or not.
"In most modern vehicles the seatbelts have a pre-tensioner that fires so the seatbelt, if it's been used, remains extended," Hayward explained.
"Also when it fires and hasn't been used then that seatbelt on the B pillar of the vehicle is really tight, almost like a guitar string - you could almost play a tune on it it's so tight.
"If the seatbelt's been worn it will exhibit signs of wear, it will show signs of stretching in some cases or it will have burn marks, and that's where the belt comes through the receiver at a sudden rate of knots and the friction between the receiver and the belt itself causes burn marks on the seatbelt.
"So there are a lot of signs that we can look at to see whether the seatbelt has been worn or not."
SCU Serious Crash Unit Constable Paul Hayward. New Zealand Herald photograph by Brett Phibbs
Hayward explained what happens to a human body during a collision, which makes you wonder why anyone would risk not wearing a seatbelt.
"One of the principles of Newton's Law is that a vehicle travelling with occupants in it, when that vehicle stops the occupants are still travelling at the same speed," he said.
"So your seatbelt allows you to take up that energy moving forward and it slows you down.
"But if you're not wearing a seatbelt, as soon as that vehicle collides with something then everything inside - specifically the occupants - are still travelling at that same speed.
"If you're not wearing a seatbelt you can end up colliding with other occupants in the vehicle, you can collide with the steering wheel, things inside the vehicle or you could be thrown through the windscreen or out through the sunroof or out through the passengers' windows - it's just like a pinball in a pinball machine, you're just thrown round all over the place."
Hayward said wearing a seatbelt was one thing, but wearing it correctly was crucial - and so many people didn't.
"They're designed in such a way that they support you in your seat, so people that put them under their arm - that can have horrific effects in a vehicle collision, putting the pressure on the wrong parts of the body, the wrong organs," he said.
"It's almost as bad as not wearing it, if it's worn incorrectly."
Police and the Herald are calling on all Kiwis to belt up in a bid to prevent further deaths. File photograph
Hayward believed the surging death toll for unrestrained people could be quelled if Kiwis were more conscious of their safety, and the safety of their passengers.
"The simple act of just putting a seatbelt on can save your life," he said.
"People need to get into the habit of putting their seatbelt on.
"It's there for a reason, it's there for a purpose - this thing can save your life, why wouldn't you want to wear it?
"As soon as you get in the car you should be putting your seatbelt on... It's so simple."
He said there were few people who would go out on a boat without a lifejacket, but people seemed more willing to go without basic safety measures on the road.
"It would be like stepping out of your house in the morning and not putting your pants on," he said.
"It should be like that, as soon as you hop in the car it's the first thing that you do - put your seatbelt on."
• Safety belts save lives.
• They support you if you're in a crash or when a vehicle stops suddenly.
• The force on safety belts can be as much as 20 times your weight - this is how hard you'd hit the inside of your vehicle without restraint.
• Wearing a safety belt reduces your chance of death or serious injury in a crash by 40 per cent.
• Whether you sit in the front or the back seat, the risk of serious or fatal injury is virtually the same.
• NZ law requires drivers and passengers in cars and other motor vehicles to wear seat belts and child restraints.
• In the last five years, over 300 people who died in NZ crashes were not wearing their seat belt.
• Many of these people would still be alive today if they were safely wearing their seat belt.
