Paralympian Christie Dawes said wearing a seatbelt saved her life when she was in a car crash at the age of 10.
"But unfortunately I wasn't wearing my seatbelt properly which led me to be a fulltime wheelchair user," Ms Dawes said this week which marks 50 years since NSW became one of the first states to introduce legislation to make seatbelts mandatory.
"This anniversary serves as a timely reminder for drivers and their passengers to always buckle up and buckle up properly."
Transport and Roads Minister Rob Stokes said the landmark law introduced in 1971 has helped save lives.
"In 1970, the year before it became mandatory to wear a seatbelt, 1309 people were killed on NSW roads, the highest number ever recorded," Mr Stokes said.
"By 1993 it had more than halved to 581, and last year it was 284, an overall reduction of 78 per cent since seatbelts were introduced."
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Regional Transport and Roads Minister Paul Toole said it was a timely reminder to wear a seatbelt at all times.
"One in six people are killed on country roads because they're not wearing a seatbelt, so every time you get in the car, even if you're only travelling a short distance or on a familiar road, make sure you're wearing one," Mr Toole said.
To commemorate 50 years of mandatory seatbelt wear, Transport for NSW is sharing some iconic seatbelt TV advertisements including the Eggmobile seatbelt safety campaign from the 1960s, which used eggs in toy cars to simulate how a seatbelt can decrease a wearer's chance of death or serious injury in the case of a car crash.
