BY KELLY ROCHE
Drivers and passengers are being asked to buckle up as OPP launch a fall seatbelt campaign Wednesday.
“Every year, our officers tend to crash victims of all ages who are not buckled in at the time of the collision. More often than not, they die as a result of being ejected, partially ejected or from the physical trauma they sustained inside the vehicle,” said OPP deputy commissioner Brad Blair in a statement.
“Fortunately, our officers have also witnessed numerous victims survive their ordeal as a result of being restrained in their seat. Every life is worth the five seconds it takes to buckle up.”
Forty people have died in collisions where they were found not wearing seatbelts in 2016, say police.
“This campaign serves as an important reminder that every driver and adult passenger has a responsibility to buckle up,” said Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services David Orazietti.
Roughly 347 people have died across Ontario in the last five years due to being unbuckled, police add, with more than 360,000 fatal and non-fatal crashes investigated between 2011 and 2015.
The 10-day campaign ends Oct. 7.
QUICK FACTS
- Between 2010 and 2014 (the OPP’s most recent data), 76 per cent of those who died in seat belt-related deaths were males.
- Over the same five-year period, males between 25 and 34 years old accounted for the highest number of seat belt-related deaths. Women in the same age group accounted for the highest number of deaths among the female victims.
(Source: Ontario Provincial Police)
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