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Car Crash Survivors’ Injuries Recreated In Chilling Photoshoot

Car Crash Survivors’ Injuries Recreated In Chilling Photoshoot

While most of us are savvy enough to wear a seatbelt on any given car trip, there are still hundreds who don't take this crucial step

EMS 7

EMS 7

Buckle up, people - today we're taking a crash course in seatbelt safety.

While most of us are savvy enough to wear a seatbelt on any given car trip, there are still hundreds of people who don't take this crucial step when getting behind the wheel.

In the UK last year, statistics from the Department for Transport revealed that in 2017 more than a quarter of the 787 car occupants killed in crashes on Britain's roads were not wearing a seatbelt.

Over in New Zealand, the figures don't look much better, with roughly 90 people dying each year because they hadn't strapped in.

In a bid to raise awareness over this very avoidable issue, the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) has launched an impactful campaign to reduce the number of road deaths by recreating the injuries of car crash survivors for a photoshoot.

NZ Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency

While none of them got off lightly, what the snaps do show is that none of these men wouldn't have survived had they not been wearing their seatbelts.

NZ Transport Agency

Speaking about the project, which saw SFX make-up company PROFX recreating the post-crash injuries, emergency medical specialist Dr. Natasha McKay said: "A seatbelt really does leave a mark like this.

"They will save your life, but they will leave you a mark to show how they've done it."

NZ Transport Agency
NZ Transport Agency

The reason the subjects of the shoot were all male is because research has shown that many men consider the belt as an optional extra rather than a life-saving necessity.

The figures certainly express this view - in 2016, for example, 28 unrestrained women died in road accidents in New Zealand, while a staggering 72 men suffered fatal injuries in the same conditions.

To change the attitude for men and women alike, the campaign is being posted on billboards across the country.

NZ Transport Agency

The chilling yet powerful photos stand as physical reminders that something as simple as buckling up can and will save your life.

NZTA spokesperson Rachel Prince added: "We're selling an undesirable product to these guys.

"Research told us they think seatbelt messages are for kids, for the elderly, for everyone else. We worked with them to make the undesirable something they wanted to buy."

The photos certainly make you think.

Featured Image Credit: NZ Transport Agency

Topics: New Zealand, News, Cars