That clumsy strap with a buckle that I hated.

There is a story behind this picture. I am still unsure whether it is right for me to say it all. I will keep it to a bare minimum as there is a take away here.

It was a late night "Nightmare". I pray that nobody has to go through it. A desperate phone call got me to hospital, into the emergency ward. He was lying on a stretcher, screaming, blood everywhere, broken ribs, leg dislocated from the hip, a gash on the throat. I never had the courage to face a situation like this, but there was no option here.

An hour later, with him in safe hands of medical experts, drove down to to the site of accident. The car was a picture of "perfect destruction".

The entire brunt of the impact was on the drivers side. He must have been surely driving. That was a little strange as I had not seen him driving before. A few pictures, a quick discussion with the cops to to complete some documentation, and I was back at the hospital. He was being wheeled into his ward. The pain was still evident in his screams, which became feeble as the doors closed in front of me.

Gazing at the rare sun rise (for me), headed home to wash and be back to speak to the doctors on the next course of action. Other buddies where already there and they gave me my biggest "shocker" of the day.

He was not driving. In-fact the driver got away with some bruises. The difference was the seat belt. He was not wearing it. The impact crashed his knee to the dashboard and he was thrown face first into the wind shield. The result was evident.

It been a year now. I do not start my car until everybody is "belted" in the car. The clumsy seat belt can save lives.  To everybody reading this, "Belt up".