‘Seat belt could have saved actor’

Facebook users and friends of Thabang Ashley Sidloyi posted a link of the video warning other motorists about speeding.

Facebook users and friends of Thabang Ashley Sidloyi posted a link of the video warning other motorists about speeding.

Published Dec 3, 2014

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Cape Town - A seat belt could have saved Thabang Sidloyi’s life, Transport MEC Donald Grant said on Tuesday.

Sidloyi, 27, a Cape Town actor and musician, was killed when he was flung from his BMW convertible on the N1 on Friday.

Another motorist captured the horrific crash on a dashboard camera. The convertible is seen hitting the barrier wall and a man, believed to be Sidloyi, is seen flying through the air before falling to his death.

A friend of Sidloyi’s, who was driving the car, is believed to have survived the crash.

“Early indications suggest that Sidloyi may have not been buckled up in the vehicle at the time of the crash,” Grant said.

“This is too often the case in a country with low compliance levels when it comes to restraints.

“Research has shown that increased seat belt compliance will mean thousands of lives, like Sidloyi’s, that would have otherwise been lost in the horrific crashes that plague our roads, are saved.”

Grant said that travelling in a car without strapping in was a certain route to death or serious injury.

“When a vehicle crashes, the occupants who are not restrained continue to move forward at the same speed at which the vehicle was travelling before the collision,” he said. “They are either catapulted forward into the structure of the vehicle, into other occupants, or ejected from the vehicle to almost certain death.”

Grant extended his condolences to Sidloyi’s family on behalf of the Western Cape government.

“As tragic and senseless as road deaths are, they are also avoidable through responsible road use.

“Excessive speeds, alcohol consumption, and not buckling up, continue to be the biggest killers on our roads. I appeal to all road users to exercise extreme caution as our roads are set to get busier and busier over the upcoming festive season.”

Cape Argus

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