10 Car Crash Survivors Pose Proudly For A Chilling Photo Project To Raise Awareness About Seatbelt Safety
Shocking portraits of the searing bruises that seatbelts can leave behind after a car crash are being celebrated as survival badges of honor, and showing the importance of belting up.
The initiative is part of an NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) social awareness campaign to reduce the number of deaths on NZ roads. According to them, 90 people die each year because they weren’t wearing their seatbelt, most of whom are young men in rural areas. The confronting portraits are of 10 real-life road accident survivors, whose post-crash injuries were recreated by the SFX make-up company PROFX.
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Liam Bethell
Image credits: ourproductionteam
Kahutia Foster
Image credits: ourproductionteam
“A seatbelt really does leave a mark like this,” emergency medical specialist Dr. Natasha McKay, who provided her expertise to the road safety project, explained. “They will save your life, but they will leave you a mark to show how they’ve done it.”
Dion Perry
Image credits: ourproductionteam
The social ads had been shown on billboards around the country, with the survivors releasing emotional videos that tell their story. The aim is to get people sharing their own survival stories, stressing the positive impact of seatbelts and the joy of being alive to tell the tale.
Dan Mason
Image credits: ourproductionteam
NZTA, who worked closely with marketing communications company Clemenger BBDO, was looking to change the attitudes of some men, who view the seatbelt as an optional extra rather than a life-saving necessity. “We’re selling an undesirable product to these guys,” spokesperson Rachel Prince told Designboom. “Research told us they think seatbelt public announcements are for kids, for the elderly, for everyone else. We worked with them to make the undesirable something they wanted to buy.”
Rick Haira
Image credits: ourproductionteam
Dylan Chirnside
Image credits: ourproductionteam
Back in 2014, Willy Carberry’s car crashed into a power pole at speed before flipping over onto its side. He only survived the horrific accident because he was wearing his seatbelt, and he had the bruise marks across his chest to prove it.
Willy Carberry
Image credits: ourproductionteam
“F***ing put a seatbelt on,” was his blunt message to guys who think they are invincible. In an interview with stuff.co.nz, he stressed that fate can be out of your hands when you’re out on the road, it’s not necessarily going to be a fault of your own that leads to a crash. “”It doesn’t matter how short the trip is. You never know who’s going to come out of the intersection and t-bone ya, or reverse out of a driveway, or an old lady going down the road, having a stroke.”
James Mcdonald
Image credits: ourproductionteam
“If you don’t wear it, you’re gambling with your life, if you ask me.”
Will Giles
Image credits: ourproductionteam
James Liberona-Feek
Image credits: ourproductionteam
Check out some of the survivors’ hard-hitting and emotional videos below
Image credits: NZTransportAgency
Image credits: NZTransportAgency
Image credits: NZTransportAgency
Image credits: NZTransportAgency
Here’s what people had to say – many shared their own stories
No-brainer: ALWAYS wear your seatbelt.
It should be, but in a world where people don't vaccinate their children because they believe that viruses doesn't exist, a lot of people seem to be able to live without a brain.
Also in a world that people believe to be flat
Why do you need a brain when the Earth is flat?
No one is injecting seatbelts into their bodies though are they
I used to know someone with a car with a beeping reminder to put on your seatbelt. She would put on the seatbelt to stop the beeping then take it right back off -- when I asked her why she did that: "It's too uncomfortable". I said "Won't it be less comfortable when your head crashes through the windshield in an accident?" She kind of laughed.... and never gave me a ride again.
Lucky you! If you were in an accident with her her unrestrained body could seriously injure or kill you.
Important note - Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and the driver of their car were not wearing seatbelts. Had those in the rear been used there is a very good chance they would have survived. Diana died due to internal injuries, Dodi was flung forward between the front seats.
They are really an amazing invention when you think about it. They’re soft, comfortable, flimsy things and then with just enough speed and motion they turn into straps of steel that can stop an insane amount force.. Pretty brilliant.
I agree I was in a car accident when I was really young...Had I not been wearing the seat belt...I would have flown out the window. Another thing... Why is everyone saying wear you're seat belt when most of our own SCHOOL BUSES don't have seat belts, one day our bus was changed out, and this one had seat belts on it, I was happy and buckled up, the other kids didn't and when they saw me strapping on the seat belt, they said, "Esther, why are you putting on your seat belt? Lol." And they laughed at me. I wasn't upset because I knew if something happened, I'd be safe. Another time the bus I was on slid of the road, and nobody was wearing seat belts. The bus didn't tip over but, I wouldn't have been as scared if the bus had seat belts. So school buses should have seat belts too. Not just cars.
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I heard Dutch people don't shave their penis head is this true
Only the men :-DDD
Like curmizie? or more like mansaping?
Yeah. Unfortunately, I know exactly how that fells, because I've been in a serious accident as a passenger, courtesy of an 18 year old kid who didn't have a driver's licence, but whose parents got him a BMW Z3 for his 18th birthday... He took it out for a ride, got to the first intersection, braked too late and then T-boned us so hard we spun 120 degrees. I was insanely lucky he hit just behind me and I have no doubt about it, the seatbelt and airbag saved me. Also, you'd think the airbag feels soft, because it's a bag full of air? Wrong! it's like being punched and for the next minute you're trying to make head or tails of what has happened and why there's dust everywhere... (it's talcum powder that helps the airbag deploy smoothly). So yeah, for Pete's sake, wear your seatbelt. It WILL save you.
It is also important to note, that an airbag can be very dangerous, if you aren't wearing a seat-belt. There're are several reports of broken necks, caused by airbags. Often, because the victim didn't wear a seat-belt. If you hit the, as you say, hard airbag, with full force, it's like banging your head against a wall. - Glad you got out of it "unhurt."
I have very close friends who lost their only son in a similar accident, with the difference that the kid hit the passenger door. His dad had bought him his new car about a month before he got the license. Needless to say, my friends will never get over the loss.
The air bag is also LOUD. And yes, not soft. I got a bloody nose when mine went off but absolutely, I was lucky just to be alive.
Many people think that powder is smoke when they first realize what happens.
Yes - my husband was one of them. I was driving and in shock, he got the kids out and safe, then came and told me there was smoke and I had to get out. I told him it was just the air bag and I wasn't ready to move yet. But I cooked for my pampered chef show an hour later (we'd been traveling to visit family and do a bridal shower show).
It's second nature to me, because my parents were always very strict about it. I instinctively reach for the seat belt as soon as I get into the car. And I'm teaching my daughter the same. She doesn't like it, but she'll like it much more than what could have happened to these guys...
Same to me. My parents were very strict with that but unfortunately my uncles and aunts not so i always felt very uncomfortable when my cousins didnt seaten their belt and nobody said anything except me...
My father-in-law is in his 70s and refuses to wear it. Only puts it on quickly when he sees a traffic officer. My moaning falls on (almost literally) deaf ears.
I always wear my seatbelt because I'm tired of hearing the dashboard chime going off whining that I forgot to click it.
I have a very old, pre-chime car 😊
I put my on as soon as my bum hits the seat. My 12 year old will tell me off if I start the car before she has hers on, even if I'm just backing out of the garage.
I never told my kids to put on a seatbelt i told them to make sure the driver didnt move the car before it was on. Took the focus off the belt, they knew they had limited power over the driver so they were usually pretty fast about getting the belt on.
I refuse to even start the vehicle if my kids don't buckle up! Even when they were still in car seats. No belt, no movement. Sorry. I would much rather treat a wound, than to mourn the death of some one who refused to wear the seat belt
No-brainer: ALWAYS wear your seatbelt.
It should be, but in a world where people don't vaccinate their children because they believe that viruses doesn't exist, a lot of people seem to be able to live without a brain.
Also in a world that people believe to be flat
Why do you need a brain when the Earth is flat?
No one is injecting seatbelts into their bodies though are they
I used to know someone with a car with a beeping reminder to put on your seatbelt. She would put on the seatbelt to stop the beeping then take it right back off -- when I asked her why she did that: "It's too uncomfortable". I said "Won't it be less comfortable when your head crashes through the windshield in an accident?" She kind of laughed.... and never gave me a ride again.
Lucky you! If you were in an accident with her her unrestrained body could seriously injure or kill you.
Important note - Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and the driver of their car were not wearing seatbelts. Had those in the rear been used there is a very good chance they would have survived. Diana died due to internal injuries, Dodi was flung forward between the front seats.
They are really an amazing invention when you think about it. They’re soft, comfortable, flimsy things and then with just enough speed and motion they turn into straps of steel that can stop an insane amount force.. Pretty brilliant.
I agree I was in a car accident when I was really young...Had I not been wearing the seat belt...I would have flown out the window. Another thing... Why is everyone saying wear you're seat belt when most of our own SCHOOL BUSES don't have seat belts, one day our bus was changed out, and this one had seat belts on it, I was happy and buckled up, the other kids didn't and when they saw me strapping on the seat belt, they said, "Esther, why are you putting on your seat belt? Lol." And they laughed at me. I wasn't upset because I knew if something happened, I'd be safe. Another time the bus I was on slid of the road, and nobody was wearing seat belts. The bus didn't tip over but, I wouldn't have been as scared if the bus had seat belts. So school buses should have seat belts too. Not just cars.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
I heard Dutch people don't shave their penis head is this true
Only the men :-DDD
Like curmizie? or more like mansaping?
Yeah. Unfortunately, I know exactly how that fells, because I've been in a serious accident as a passenger, courtesy of an 18 year old kid who didn't have a driver's licence, but whose parents got him a BMW Z3 for his 18th birthday... He took it out for a ride, got to the first intersection, braked too late and then T-boned us so hard we spun 120 degrees. I was insanely lucky he hit just behind me and I have no doubt about it, the seatbelt and airbag saved me. Also, you'd think the airbag feels soft, because it's a bag full of air? Wrong! it's like being punched and for the next minute you're trying to make head or tails of what has happened and why there's dust everywhere... (it's talcum powder that helps the airbag deploy smoothly). So yeah, for Pete's sake, wear your seatbelt. It WILL save you.
It is also important to note, that an airbag can be very dangerous, if you aren't wearing a seat-belt. There're are several reports of broken necks, caused by airbags. Often, because the victim didn't wear a seat-belt. If you hit the, as you say, hard airbag, with full force, it's like banging your head against a wall. - Glad you got out of it "unhurt."
I have very close friends who lost their only son in a similar accident, with the difference that the kid hit the passenger door. His dad had bought him his new car about a month before he got the license. Needless to say, my friends will never get over the loss.
The air bag is also LOUD. And yes, not soft. I got a bloody nose when mine went off but absolutely, I was lucky just to be alive.
Many people think that powder is smoke when they first realize what happens.
Yes - my husband was one of them. I was driving and in shock, he got the kids out and safe, then came and told me there was smoke and I had to get out. I told him it was just the air bag and I wasn't ready to move yet. But I cooked for my pampered chef show an hour later (we'd been traveling to visit family and do a bridal shower show).
It's second nature to me, because my parents were always very strict about it. I instinctively reach for the seat belt as soon as I get into the car. And I'm teaching my daughter the same. She doesn't like it, but she'll like it much more than what could have happened to these guys...
Same to me. My parents were very strict with that but unfortunately my uncles and aunts not so i always felt very uncomfortable when my cousins didnt seaten their belt and nobody said anything except me...
My father-in-law is in his 70s and refuses to wear it. Only puts it on quickly when he sees a traffic officer. My moaning falls on (almost literally) deaf ears.
I always wear my seatbelt because I'm tired of hearing the dashboard chime going off whining that I forgot to click it.
I have a very old, pre-chime car 😊
I put my on as soon as my bum hits the seat. My 12 year old will tell me off if I start the car before she has hers on, even if I'm just backing out of the garage.
I never told my kids to put on a seatbelt i told them to make sure the driver didnt move the car before it was on. Took the focus off the belt, they knew they had limited power over the driver so they were usually pretty fast about getting the belt on.
I refuse to even start the vehicle if my kids don't buckle up! Even when they were still in car seats. No belt, no movement. Sorry. I would much rather treat a wound, than to mourn the death of some one who refused to wear the seat belt