Hit by a train: How a Napier man's 'scars' tell a story of how his life was saved

Rick Haira says being hit by a train took only a couple of seconds, but it seemed like it was out of a movie.

In 2004, on the way to a job in Havelock North, he was hit by a train.

He was watching traffic at the Longlands Rd and Railway Rd intersection, and didn't see the train coming.

Rick Haira's bruises told a story of how his life was saved. Photo / NZTA

"I just hear a loud horn, look to my left, and basically no time to react or do anything to change the outcome."

The train clipped his car on the passenger side, spun him 180 degrees and hit him again and his car went spinning, knocking over a lamppost which was bolted to the ground.

He walked away with a broken wrist, bruising and a few scars.

One bruise, which looked like a sash across his chest, was a reminder that buckling his seatbelt saved his life.

He says he is 100 per cent sure that had he not been wearing his seatbelt he would be dead.

"I could have been smeared all over the front of that train."

Now he is part of a NZ Transport Agency campaign to encourage people to wear their seatbelts.

Ten men who were involved in serious car crashes have had their injuries recreated, with makeup, and photographed.

While every photo is different, they all have bruising where their seatbelt protected them.

Haira said having the injuries recreated reminded him of the pain which, all up, took around 12 months to heal, and he still has scars on his wrists and hips.

He used to wake up in the middle of the night in cold sweats, saying out of 10 his pain was a 12.

NZTA Road Safety Director Harry Wilson said every year close to 100 people die needlessly in car crashes when they should have been wearing their seatbelt.

"Every one of those deaths is a tragedy, and most of them could have been easily avoided."

He said in particular, Kiwi men needed proof that was credible and authentic to hammer the message home.

Emergency medicine specialist Natasha McKay said seatbelts save lives and "they will leave a mark to show how they've done it".

That mark may be short term bruising, or possibly a scar, but while it is there it is a physical reminder that wearing a seatbelt saved their life, she said.

The campaign is aiming to shift perceptions of seatbelts from an optional accessory to a lifesaving necessity.

Haira's message was simple.

"There are really no excuses as to why you shouldn't be wearing your seatbelt."

Dan Mason, who was hit and badly injured by a drink-driver in 2008, is also involved in the campaign.