Six dead in one day on Serbian roads; "Back seat killers" continue to ignore one important rule

Back seat killers, out of negligence, but due to irresponsibility - that his how passengers in cars who do not wear their seat belts while traveling in the back seat can be described.

With this act, they not only endanger their own but also the lives of drivers and passengers in the front seat. Exactly this was the possible cause of death of Snezana Stojanovic (36) and Perica Dupski (49), who died in Vladimirci after a car in which they were traveling crashed into a house.

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"The impact was so powerful that firefighters had to cut through the car in order to get the passengers out of the smashed vehicle! It is assumed that Stojanovic's fatal injuries were sustained when the force of the impact threw Dupski, who was sitting behind her without a seat belt, forward, pushing her seat all the way up! There was literally no chance for the woman to survive the accident," a source said, adding that all the circumstances of this accident will be determined during the investigation.

WHAT HAPPENED IN VLADIMIRCI?

According to eyewitnesses the driver crashed into a family home with great speed because he failed to handle a curve in the road. He survived, but Snezana, who was sitting next to him, was killed. Just like Perica, who was sitting behind her.

Damir Okanovic, director of the Traffic Safety Committee, has repeatedly urged back seat passengers to wear their seat belts precisely for these reasons.

Photo: Aleksandar Tokin

"People who are sitting in the back without a seat belt are called 'back seat killers'. Imagine moving at 50 kilometers an hour and suddenly stopping abruptly because you hit a truck and the back seat passenger, if not wearing a seat belt, continues to move at the same speed thanks to the force of inertia and hits the person in front. The consequences are clear," Okanovic said recently.

WEARING A SEAT BELT IMPROPERLY IS ALSO DANGEROUS

That wearing a seat belt can also be dangerous, if the rules are not taken into account, is something that Damir Okanovic pointed out to yesterday on Twitter.

"I just saw a woman sitting in the back seat, a baby in her lap, and a seat belt tied across the two of them together. That's a fatal mistake! In the event of sudden braking or a frontal collision, the woman will cause severe injuries to her child, which can be fatal!," Okanovic wrote.

Управо видех жену како седи на задњем седишту, бебац јој седи у крилу, а сигурносни појас везан преко њих двоје заједно. То је фатална ГРЕШКА!!! У случају наглог кочења или чеоног судара жена ће тежином својег тела детету нанети тешке повреде које могу бити и смртоносне!— Damir Okanović (@DamirOkanovic) August 30, 2019

Objects you are holding in your lap as you sit in the front seat can also be dangerous. The instruction clearly states that while wearing a seat belt, you must not hold anything in your lap, because air bags will deploy in case of a crash.

When it comes to transporting babies, special seats are mandatory.

Pregnant women, although a seat belt could possibly kill the fetus in the event of sudden braking, are still required to use a seat belt.

Therefore, drivers could check one thing before departing - whether all passengers are seated safely and whether they are wearing their seat belts.

SIX DEAD IN ONE DAY

Two people were killed in one day in Vladimirci near Alibunar, two in Rtkov near Kladovo, and one near Subotica.

The latest accident happened half an hour before midnight in the village of Trbusac, where the driver of an Opel Astra was also killed.

The car drove off the Sabac-Obrenovac road and turned over. The driver died on the spot while two others were injured and transported to the hospital.

The police have stepped up work over the weekend to detect speeding offenses, drink driving and use of cellphones by drivers.

(M. Beljan)