Seat Belts

Seat Belts work - you're living proof!

Kidsafe Hunter invites you to share your story!

Most people have a restraint (i.e. a seat belt or child restraint) available to them to use when they travel in a car or a van.

Not using a restraint greatly increases the likelihood of being severely injured or killed if they are involved in a crash.

It has been proven beyond doubt that seat belts and child restraints save lives.

The Seat Belt Survivors' Club is an exclusive club: it's for people who have survived a serious traffic accident because of seat belts.

If you or anyone you know is living proof that safety belts work, please contact us.

The Seat Belt Survivors' Club is designed to recognise you for having the good judgement to buckle up and to help encourage other people to do the same.

Membership is free and members receive a congratulatory letter from KIDSAFE, a membership certificate and a "Saves Lives" pin.

Sharing your seat ball survivor story may convince others to buckle up.

A seat belt saved you from serious injury or death: here's your chance to save someone else.

Share your seat belt survivor story by clicking here.

Here is my seatbelt survivor story:

I live in one city and work in another. One night, as I was driving back to the city I work in, I was travelling about 65mph (the speed limit). All of a sudden, my car jerked to the right. It started spinning out of control and the next thing I remember is the car landing on its driver side. I opened my eyes, felt for my cell phone (couldn't find it), thought "Well, I don't think I'm bleeding and I don't think anything is broken," so I unclicked my seatbelt and stood up. The car landed on the driver's side, so I had to climb through the broken passenger window to get out. Two wonderful men had already pulled over and came to help me out. I was wearing shoes, but they had fallen off. The men picked me up and took me to the side of the road where no glass was. They called 911 (000) and then let me call my parents.

State Patrol, firetrucks, and the ambulance all came within minutes. They put me on the stretcher and took me to the local ER. Before I left for the ER, everyone that was at the site came up and told me how lucky I was to be wearing my seatbelt. When I got to the ER, they did a CAT scan and took some x-rays and everything came out fine. After rolling my car 2 and 1/4 times, the only injury I had was a tiny scratch on the back of my leg, a bruise on my knee from the window crank, and a bloody nose.

Everytime I get in the car I always click my seatbelt. It takes maybe three seconds, but those three seconds saved my life. I thank my Mom everyday for teaching me to wear my seatbelt at ALL times. That little strap really did save my life.

Always remember to wear your seatbelt!!! I was the only one on the road that night (it was only about 8:15 or so). Sometimes accidents are just accidents and you never know when they will happen.

Amy Colvin

Seat Belt Facts - How do Restraints work?

Seat belts and child restraints prevent injuries by:

Increasing the amount of time it takes to stop in a crash. Without a seat belt, driver and passengers stop very quickly in a crash when they collide with the hard interior of the car (for example the windscreen) or something outside the vehicle such as the road. A seat belt stops the impact being so severe because it stretched during the process of stopping.
Spreading the forces of the impact across a larger proportion of the body. That is in a crash a seat belt spreads the forces over the strong bones of the hips and chest. Without a seat belt, the forces are concentrated on the part of the body that hits first - often the head.
Minimising the contact with the car's interior.
Protecting the occupants from being thrown out.
Children in correctly installed restraints have survived crashes where adults have been killed.