Crash test ad drives home importance of seatbelts

A new road safety campaign showing the impact of crashing without a seatbelt has been launched following a spike in the number of unrestrained road deaths.

Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the hard-hitting campaign aimed to make risk-takers face the reality that without a seatbelt, they were far more likely to die in a crash.

"The campaign shows the real, violent impact of a car crash on belted and unbelted crash test dummies travelling at 40km/h," Mr Bailey said.

"The comparison of the impact on unbelted dummies compared to those wearing a seatbelt is shocking. You can only imagine how much worse it would be at higher speeds.

Mr Bailey said the campaign aimed to debunk the myth it was safe to travel unrestrained at low speeds or on familiar local streets and roads.

"Too many Queenslanders, particularly those in regional areas, become complacent behind the wheel when it comes to their seatbelt,” he said.

“They think because they know the road well and/or there's less traffic outside cities, it's ok not to belt up.

"The reality is that a crash at just 40km/h has the same impact on the human body as falling from a two-storey building."

Mr Bailey said drivers and passengers were about eight times more likely to be killed in a road crash if they were not wearing a seatbelt.

"Last year, 43 people who lost their lives in crashes were unrestrained, which is 14 more than in 2019 and 15 more than the previous five-year average.

"That's 43 lives that may have been saved if only they were wearing their seatbelt. This is a tragic and preventable loss and it's clear a stronger approach is required to get the message through.

"No one expects to be involved in a car crash but if you are, what matters most to your chances of survival and the severity of injury, is whether you are wearing a seatbelt.

"The message is clear – wear a seatbelt every time you are in a vehicle. Even at lower speeds or if it is a road you know well. Seatbelts save lives."

Mr Bailey said it’s just one of the measures the Palaszczuk Government is taking to tackle road safety, with too many lives lost on Queensland roads this year.

“In this year’s State Budget, we committed almost $1.7 billion to prioritise safety upgrades, improve driver education, make school zones safer and develop policies to reduce road crashes and trauma, including the rollout of distracted driving cameras,” he said.

“This year, we will be rolling out cameras to target drivers using their phones and not wearing their seatbelts, putting Queensland at the forefront with the most comprehensive camera program in the country.

“We’re doing our bit, but we need road users to do theirs, with the 'Fatal Five' - speeding, drink/drug driving, failure to wear a seatbelt, fatigue, and driver distraction – continuing to be contributing factors in more than half of lives lost.”

Mr Bailey said the campaign, while relevant to all Queenslanders, was developed for regional Queensland, where there was a higher proportion of people killed in car crashes not wearing a seatbelt.

"Queensland crash data from last year (2020) shows almost 40 per cent (39.7%) of lives lost and people seriously injured in road crashes where they weren't wearing a seatbelt occurred outside significant urban areas," he said.  

"Given only 15 per cent of Queensland's population live outside significant urban areas, this is a large over-representation of people being killed or injured in crashes while unrestrained."

The $923,500 campaign will feature television, Spotify, digital, social, outdoor, and out-of-home advertising, as well as at petrol stations and Gold Coast Suns AFL home games.

It will also educate road users about the importance of seatbelts ahead of the introduction of the new mobile phone/seatbelt enforcement cameras next month (July).

For more information and tips on road safety visit StreetSmarts (initiatives.qld.gov.au)

Media contact:    Toby Walker - 0439 347 875