Seat belt penalties

Notso - Yes, the ultimate penalty is the one you can't get out of, with the assistance of a lawyer.

The brother and SIL were travelling home to the wheatbelt around 1967 or '68, through the Gleneagle State Forest, late at night.
The roads were pretty quiet and just one car came up behind them in about 70 kms once out of Perth.
The car overtook them and vanished into the distance.

About 15 mins later, as they neared the end of the forest and the start of the farmland at Dale River, they spotted a set of headlights in the bush, about 80M off the road.
They pulled up and saw the car that had passed them only 15 mins before, on its side. It had run off the road, rolled on its side and slid into a sizeable tree, that was directly in line with the windscreen.

They had a look inside and found that the driver (the sole occupant) was dead - killed instantly by a broken neck, when he was thrown forward and hit the tree.

This was just before seatbelts became mandatory. This bloke was only one of hundreds of people that would still be here today if seatbelts had been introduced earlier.
Interestingly, a number of Fords had seatbelts as standard from the early 1960's but few people used them.

I also lost a top young employee in 1992 when he didn't wear his seatbelt.
Young John was 20 and a real go-getter - and on the day, he was instructed to take one of our dual cab 4x4 Hiluxes from our yard in Kalgoorlie out to the Celebration minesite about 35kms out on the Kambalda Road.
He roared off and about 2 hrs later we got notification there had been an accident involving one of our vehicles.

We got to the accident site and found our Hilux rolled and written off and young John was dead.

It appeared that John, despite being trained and advised to wear a seatbelt at all times, had failed to fasten his seatbelt.

The events involving the accident were incredible. It appeared that John had drifted off the edge of the bitumen (wide, 2-lane highway, perfect conditions), either through inattention - perhaps he'd been consuming a snack - or he'd dropped something and tried to pick it up.

He hit a small wooden white guide post (75x35mm), with the LHS front wheel, that was flattened - and which broke in half as it was run over by the front wheel.

As the top half of the broken guide post came out from under the front wheel, it stood up at 45 degrees to the ground, and made contact with the LHS rear tyre at 90 degrees to the tread.
The post totally penetrated the tread, and effectively cut the tread belt in half. The tyre deflated instantly (this was a Bridgestone, too, I might add).

As John swung the steering wheel to the right to get back on the bitumen, he was unaware the LHS rear tyre was totally deflated.

The Hilux promptly broadsided at 110 kmh with the totally deflated LHS rear tyre acting as a skid. The Hilux rolled twice and John was catapulted out the passenger side window and hit the road head first, breaking his neck instantly.

This was a very sad day for all concerned - not only because John was a decent, well behaved, and top class employee - but because it was all due to a few moments carelessness, as regards fastening a seat belt.

timely warning especially to those who are visiting BIRDSVILLE!! The cops riding trail bikes and do so "Standing" so that they can see drivers more easily.....no they are no standing on "the pegs" because they have sore bums!!!...they are looking for unfastened s/belts. Also.....don't think because you are on a bush track you are safe.....under the Road Rules have a look at the definition of Highway....and part of the road rules states...a "HIGHWAY"...."used by the public as the public may for the passage of vehicles"....so even a servo driveway is classified as a highway. Whilst I am on my soap box...did you know that there is no mention of "a highway" in the drink drive exceed blood alcohol limit provisions.....therefore the offence can happen ANYWHERE!!

NTVRX - Yes, I posted this warning because country cops are generally bored witless, constantly looking for a "kill" - and they target seatbelts mercilessly.

The definition of a "road" in W.A. many years ago, used to be a "gazetted" road. That is, a road that had been surveyed and then named and declared a public road in the Govt Gazette.

There are a lot of roads in W.A. that have been surveyed, never actually formed up with a grader, and never gazetted as public roads.
Yet, often, these "ungazetted" roads are in use, as people drive between the trees and form their own track.
There are also many tracks pushed through Crown Land, that have never ever been surveyed, let alone gazetted.

However, the W.A. Road Traffic Act of 1974 clearly states the definition of "road" was widened to include any driveway, track, or road, that is accessible to, and used by, the general public - and which is not private property.

[Road Traffic Act (W.A.) 1974, "definitions":

"road" means any highway, road or street open to, or used by, the public and includes every carriageway, footway, reservation, median strip and traffic island thereon.]

Thus, you can have a fatal car accident on private property and it is not included in the road toll, as it's deemed an accident not associated with a public road.

It's been completely automatic for me since '72 when I got off the plane at Tullarmarine and my elder bro told me to "belt up". When I owned a cab in Perth I had passengers reckon they didn't feel safe with me as I obviously had no confidence in my own driving by wearing the belt. How stupid is that?
That may have stemmed from the rule that cab drivers in Perth (only at night from what's left of my memory) didn't have to wear them if they had male passengers in the cab.
I personally felt more at risk from the lunatic behaviour of other drivers than from most of my customers as I operated on the basis that if they looked bad types they didn't get in in the first place.:-)
AlanH.

Sounds like a few in my family, but then their brother (my uncle) was killed with the seat belt crushing his chest, from a supposedly minor accident. This was early 70's so an older, less refined vehicle than that availble now.
My old man swears being able to throw himself to the floor of a truck during a roll over was what saved him.


Many stories for and against. Mostly for, for obvious reasons. Safer with them on.

SDG,

its strange how people like to blame someone, something, anyone for untoward events. I reckon if he was travelling so fast that the seat belt crushed his chest, he would have hit the steering wheel/dash board hard enough to kill him if he hadn't been wearing the seat belt.

Bob

its stupid stories like that people use to justify not wearing a seatbelt.

If he was killed with a seatbelt on then he would have had no hope with it off.
yes it hurts even after being in a fairly minor prang - but that just reminds you how much force is involved in even a small prang and makes you glad you were wearing it if thats the case.

I find not wearing seatbelts is rife in the country (just one of the many reasons fatalitys happen more to country people on country roads )

when i mention most of them know a mate whos auntys uncles best mates son crashed into a dam and drowned because they couldnt get the seatbelt undone

Using a mobile phone while driving is already illegal in WA, though you would never know it.
Chicky birds, gen Y'ers, tradies and truckies are often noticed with mobiles plugged into their ears while driving. No so many old farts like me though, I have enough difficulty with the phone when standing still, let alone while driving.

Disco.

i was watching a tv show RPA based on the Sydney hospital they had one guy come in they put some hot wax stuff in his ear to make one of those hands free phones and stuffed the job up lol

much easier to turn it off and chick it in the glove box and concentrate on the road

I don't even like passengers using them in my car, so as it's my car, they are banned.
I don't even own one.

Maybe this says it all.

LINK to Yeppoon accident

Michelle,

a couple of years ago I raised the subject of the fines for having an unregistered trailer. I was flamed mercilessly by a whole bunch of very self righteous, holier than thou people who had clearly never ever done anything wrong in their lives. I was also accused of wasting time etc
So it is nice to see that either the flamers have left the forum, or have matured a bit. Discussing fines, road safety, differences between states etc is highly relevant material, and I also welcome this thread.

Bob

PS your use of the term "no brainer" is more apt than you probably intended!

That's bloody awful RA, so easily to have worn a seatbelt and it may have made all the difference.