Man thrown from car in crash near Taipa

Northland road policing manager Wayne Ewers is shocked many Northland motorists still don't buckle up, after a Far North man narrowly avoided death when thrown from his car on Wednesday.

A Far North motorist is lucky to be alive after he was thrown from his vehicle in a crash, with the car rolling before stopping just short of where he was lying.

Inspector Wayne Ewers, Northland road policing manager, said he was shocked that despite all the publicity around not wearing seatbelts, and the deaths caused by the practice, people were still not listening.

At least nine of Northland's 22 road deaths so far this year could have been avoided if the deceased were wearing seatbelts.

A man suffered moderate injuries when he was thrown from a car in a single-vehicle crash on Oruru Rd, south of Taipa, about 3.30pm on Wednesday. Police, St John Ambulance and the Mangonui Fire Brigade attended. The driver was taken to Kaitaia Hospital.

Mr Ewers said the man was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from his vehicle.

"The car then rolled a couple of times and landed on its side. If it had rolled one more time it would have landed on him . . . all for not clicking on his seatbelt. I can't believe people don't take that small step of putting on their seatbelt. Despite all those messages, many Northlanders are still risking their lives on our roads by not clicking on seatbelts.

"If you were working in a timber yard you'd put safety boots on. It's the same here, your seatbelt is part your safety system in your vehicle."

He said police could enforce the road rules and provide education, but it still came down to people making the right decisions.

"If you aren't going to use your seat belt you run the risk of being severely injured or even killed. People have to take responsibility and look after each other, and make sure their mates and whanau have their seat belts on. I can't say it strongly enough. It's a repeated message but it's not getting through."

He said so far this year there have been some pretty clear-cut cases of people being thrown out of vehicles in Northland.

"They'd be alive today if they'd clicked their seatbelts on," Mr Ewers said.

"It's devastating for families, and also for the cops and emergency services who have to pick up the pieces and tell people their loved ones aren't coming home."

Earlier this month Far North REAP launched a renewed road safety campaign in the Far North, One Tear Too Many.

The campaign features billboards calling on motorists to slow down, drive sober and buckle up, and is on the backs of the Kaitaia-based Petricevich bus fleet.

Fourteen of the 22 road deaths this year have been in the Far North. Northland's road toll for all of 2016 was 27 with nine in the Far North.