New Zealand Transport Agency has endorsed a coroner’s message about the critical difference that wearing seatbelts can make, following findings on a crash that claimed the lives of four young South Korean skiers in South Canterbury last year.

Bumhee Cho, 23, Junwoo Park, 20, Sangseo Kim, 16, and Hyunseo Han, 17, died after the vehicle they were in collided with another car on State Highway 79 near Geraldine in August last year.

Three of the men died on impact and another died in December following severe injuries he suffered.

Coroner Mary-Anne Borrowdale, in her findings made available today, said that it was clear from the evidence of the pathologists and the crash analyst that the injuries sustained by these young men were made considerably worse because they were not wearing seatbelts.

Additional evidence to that effect was supplied by the other motorist that they struck in this head-on crash: he was wearing a seatbelt and was restrained within the cab of his vehicle. He was injured, but not fatally injured.

The coroner reinforced the message to motorists: always wear your seatbelt, whether you are the driver or passenger, as seatbelts save lives.

Director of Land Transport Brent Alderton said the coroner’s message about the value of seatbelts may be familiar, but it is an important reminder.

Since 2020 there has been a steady increase in deaths and serious injuries where people have not been wearing seatbelts on New Zealand roads. NZTA is currently targeting the issue as part of its road safety marketing campaign: Seatbelts campaign: Warmer seatbelt warnings | NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi

“Whatever the cause of a crash, the evidence shows that one of the best things you can do to prevent death or serious injury is to wear your seatbelt,” Mr Alderton says.

Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of drivers and passengers being killed or seriously injured by about 40 per cent. If everyone wore their seatbelts, an estimated 25 lives could be saved in road crashes every year.