While getting road users to be 100 per cent compliant with seat belt laws remains a challenging goal, the OPP see motorists taking a step in the right direction with 2014 seat belt-related fatalities on track to being the lowest in 10 years.
Looking at 10 years of collision data (2005 to 2014), over 100 people died each year from 2005 to 2007 in collisions where lack of seat belt compliance was a contributing factor and the number has stayed below the 100 mark since then. When looking at more recent data, a total of 73 people died in collisions due to non-compliance with seat belt laws in 2013 and this year’s seat belt-related fatalities currently sit at 32 (as of Sept. 21).
Over the course of its fall seat belt campaign, OPP officers will be counting on every driver they encounter during their seat belt checks to ensure that everyone in the vehicle is buckled up.
