Victims back new car seat belt laws

A father whose son was killed in a road accident because he wasn't wearing his seat belt, and a girl whose life was saved because she belted up, are backing LARSOA's bid to raise awareness of the change in the law on seat belts that comes into effect on 18 September.

Keith's Houliston's son, Neil (pictured), was just 17 when he was killed in a collision on Christmas Day. He was driving to his home in North Yorkshire when he took a bend too quickly and collided head on with another car. "At his inquest the coroner said that if he had been wearing his seat belt he probably would have sustained nothing worse than whiplash injuries," Keith says.

Michelle Wheatley, now 20, crashed her car into a tree next to a 40 foot drop into a quarry. There is no doubt in her mind that her life was saved because she was wearing a seat belt. Michelle suffered severe head injuries and spent three months in hospital.

"The fire service had to fasten the car to the fire engine to stop it going over the edge of the quarry, then cut off the back of the car to slide me out," she says. "I was a mess. I had fractured my forehead, the top of my head and the base of my skull, broken my eye sockets and my nose and jaw."

Michelle has been left permanently deaf in her right ear and suffers with headaches.

LARSOA chairman, Simon Ettinghausen, says: "As well as children being properly restrained, the importance of wearing a seat belt in the rear of a vehicle must be emphasised. While people know they should wear a seat belt in the front seat, many don't realise how dangerous it is not to wear one in the back."

Footnote:
RoSPA says that 'thousands' of parents are contacting it each day for information on the new child car seat law. The association says that around 5,000 people per day are logging onto its website, www.childcarseats.org.uk , which was set up to help parents with queries about car restraints.

Kevin Clinton, RoSPA head of road safety, said: "The interest has been phenomenal.   It shows that people are aware that changes are on the way and they need to be prepared for them - but a lot do seem to be leaving things until the last minute."

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