Study delves into NZ's seatbelt problem

People in rural areas, those driving to work and the elderly are among the groups most frequently suffering fatal road crashes when not wearing seatbelts, it has been revealed.

The AA Research Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Transport, NZ Police, NZ Transport Agency and the ACC, has led a project that takes an in-depth look at 200 deaths where people were not buckled up, and also examines the offence history of people caught not wearing a seatbelt.

The research suggests that seatbelt deaths are not restricted to just one group. Along with the young, risky drivers that people might expect to be involved, other common groups were people in rural areas, people driving for work, the elderly and tourists, AA research manager Simon Douglas said.

“The vast majority of people wear their seatbelt, yet up to 30% of vehicle occupant deaths in recent years haven’t been buckled up,” Douglas explained. “The research aimed to build a much greater understanding of who it was being involved in these crashes.”

Other key findings include that on average over the last decade: 26% of vehicle occupants who died in crashes were not wearing a seatbelt; 83.5% of deaths where someone wasn’t wearing a seatbelt occurred on rural roads; 53.5% of unrestrained deaths involved alcohol; 36.5% of unrestrained deaths involved fatigue and 58% of people caught by police not wearing a seatbelt have at least one previous seatbelt offence.

“It’s mystifying that in New Zealand the rate of people dying while not buckled up is much higher than in other countries like Australia,” Douglas noted.

“The AA sees solving the seatbelt riddle as a vital part of reducing road deaths.

“Far too often we are seeing crashes where multiple people are in a car and the ones with seatbelts only suffer bruises and scrapes, while someone who isn’t buckled up dies,” he said.

According to the AA, the research is a first step in tackling New Zealand’s seatbelt problem and, now that there is a better understanding of the types of people involved, it will help better guide efforts to change their behaviour.

“It won’t be easy, but we need to all work together to find new ways of reaching the people not wearing seatbelts and getting them to buckle up every time they are in a car,” Douglas added.