Fake seatbelt proves deadly

New Zealand
February 24, 2008

A New Zealand driver who used a fake car seatbelt to fool police was killed when it failed him in a head-on crash.

Ivan Segedin refused to wear a seatbelt while driving and had been fined 32 times in the past five years for not wearing one, a coroner's court was told.

Mr Segedin, 39, died in a crash on July 22 last year from multiple injuries when his car crossed the road and collided head-on with an oncoming vehicle on the North Island, coroner Carla na Nagara said. "Ultimately, Mr Segedin's actions in driving without a seatbelt have cost him his life in an accident that he may well have survived had he worn one," she said.

yes, I know that Seatbelts and motorcycle crash helmets are often seen as a matter of "individual choice".

Personally, i think the drivers who fail to wear such protective devices should be charged PERSONALLY the cost of their medical treatment and not be allowed to claim on insurance since it was a willful act.