OVER the past decade, 268 Victorian road fatalities involved occupants not wearing a seatbelt, with 67 per cent of those happening in regional Victoria.

While seatbelts are a life-saving device, statistics from the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) highlight that many of the people who died on metro and regional roads in the recent years were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the collision.

Hamilton Police highway patrol unit sergeant, Darren Smart said wearing a seatbelt was one of the easiest things you could do to reduce your risk of serious injury in a crash.

“The question I ask myself and I would like all occupants of vehicles is this – if the 268 Victorians who were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash had been wearing them, would they still be with their friends and loved ones today?” he said.

“That is a question no one can accurately answer but for the sake of doing something as simple as putting on a seat belt, I would like to think that most people would like to improve their odds of surviving a collision.”

Sgt Smart said the choice to wear a seatbelt when driving was really a “no brainer”.

“I personally have attended and investigated multiple collisions where the safety systems within vehicles have meant the difference between life and death, minor injury and serious injury,” he said.

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