Wearing a correctly adjusted seat belt is one of the simplest ways of reducing the risk of serious injury or death in the event of a motor vehicle crash. By law, everyone must wear a seatbelt in New Zealand.
While it sounds very simple, a report by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) shows that each year approximately 90 people are killed on New Zealand roads because they’re not wearing a seatbelt.
Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency reports that wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of serious injury or death in a road crash by about 40%. If everyone wore their seat belts, an estimated 25% of lives could be saved from road crashes each year.
And, while we’ve heard it all before, we know it’s true: seatbelts save lives. Making sure your seatbelts are used to keep you and your passengers safe should be a priority. Here are our tips on what to look out for and how to make sure your seatbelts are working the way they should.
What is a seatbelt?
Seatbelts (also known as safety belts) are designed to minimise injury by transferring the force of a crash away from the vulnerable parts of your body, such as your stomach, to areas that are better able to provide resistance, like your pelvis.
A seatbelt consists of the following:
- Webbing – the nylon strap that holds you to your seat. It’s designed to stretch during a crash as it holds you in place. Once the belt is stretched in an accident, it needs to be replaced so it can continue to protect the person using it.
- Buckle – this is where you clip the seat belt into the side of your seat.
- Tongue – the webbing goes through this piece of metal, and it clips into the buckle to hold the seat belt in place.
- Retractor – this is the spring-loaded reel that pulls up and holds any excess webbing. It usually spins free to keep the belt out of your way. Under hard braking or during a crash, it locks to hold you in place.
- Anchors – these are the bolts that attach the seatbelt hardware to the body of the car.
How does a seatbelt work?
If you’re in a crash, your seatbelt protects you by:
- reducing the risk of you being thrown out of the vehicle
- holding you in the position where you receive the most benefit from protective devices such as airbags
- reducing the risk of you being thrown around the vehicle and injuring yourself and the other occupants
- reducing the likelihood of hitting other objects within the vehicles, such as the back windscreen and front seats.
Inspecting and maintaining your seatbelts
Perfectly fitted seatbelts offer the vehicle occupants the best protection in a crash, which is why it’s so important to make sure they remain in good working order. Here’s what you need to check regularly:
- The seatbelt webbing material isn’t frayed, cut, or damaged in any way. If you spot anything, get the belt replaced.
- The seatbelts are not twisted.
- Buckles engage and release properly.
- Both tongue and buckle are not cracked, rusted or damaged in any way that might affect their strength and performance.
- Seatbelt retractors work well, that is, the seat belt pulls out smoothly, retracts completely when it’s not in use, and it locks when you give it a hard pull. If any of these functions don’t work properly, replace the belt.
- All the anchors are bolted in tightly and there are no signs of rust.
- The seat belt warning device (if fitted) is working.
You should inspect and maintain your seatbelts if required at least once a year. You should also do these checks after every crash, no matter how small it may be.