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Story: Road accidents

Dangerous driving

Video file

The road toll began to rise sharply in the 1960s, but unsafe driving practices continued, as this clip from the classic surf movie, Children of the sun, shows. Wearing of seat belts in the front seat of cars did not become compulsory until 1972. Back seat belts became compulsory in 1979.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Road accidents – Growth in road injuries and deaths, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/20900/dangerous-driving (accessed 3 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 17 February 2010, updated 1 December 2014.