4 grown men in an R53 mini hit head on (not sure of speed) enough to total both vehicles in Austin, TX a couple of years back, all exited vehicle (mini) with minor cuts/bruises. When we were told this by an eyewitness, we felt much more comfortable in purchasing our R56.

These little cars are built tough!

 

This was a very sad thing. The driver chose to drive unbelted. A poor choice that she paid the ultimate price for. I feel very sorry for her family & friends.

 

Horrible. And what makes things so much worse it that it could have been avoided...

 

Whenever you hear that little voice saying, "nah, I won't bother putting it on this one time" you're gambling with the one thing you can't afford to lose. Buckle up!

 

I won't drive down my driveway without the belt. (Though I must reveal that my driveway includes 1/4 mile of very steep and curvy pavement followed by 1/4 mile 1-lane gravel road on the edge of a cliff :-)

I've noticed in most accounts of fatal auto accidents, the fatally-injured were not wearing belts.

 

Buckle up, folks. If you are gonna gamble, go with the odds.

 

I posted that photo of the fatal accident in hopes just a few Mini Owners (and car owners in general) would think twice about that nagging seatbelt. I apologize if I offended anyone. With such excellent postings I am sure some drivers will think about it more. I am proud to be a part of this small online family. Motor on.

 

I'm always scared driving my Mini. I always wear my belt. I guess when its your time thats it.

 

Such a shame.

I became accustomed to wearing a seat belt when living in DC in the 80s. It only took a couple of times of driving the beltway to realize there is no way in hell i'm going without it.

 

I can't imagine that you offended anyone.

While it is a sad post (I have visions of the owner and how she felt on the day she purchased it) it is an example that car mfg's spend millions of dollars in order to tell you that you must wear your belt. Simple enough. I would guess that she was running a quickie and felt inconvenienced by having to buckle up. The stat that most fatal accidents take place within a mile of your house may apply ?

Unfortunately, as many MINI owners are not NAM cruisers, that's evident when you only get one wave for every 25, the stats of MINI fatalities is probably higher than we think. We're only a small portion of owners. Maybe CR&PW&JB has some stats ?

I learned my lesson when I was about 8 years old, the family was in our dinosaur, a '73 Gran Torino Wagon down in Ocean City. My mom looked back and saw I did not have my belt on and said "Put it on now !" Of course, I know everything and grumbled about it. As the belt clicked and locked, we got nailed in the rear by some dude not paying attention. Woke me up.

Mike