Everybody knows people should wear their seatbelts when out for a drive.
But there is still that small percentage of people in Saskatchewan that don’t buckle up.
This month’s SGI traffic safety spotlight is on those who fail to properly secure their children in the vehicle, or wear their own seatbelts.
A spokesperson from SGI said last year, police reported over 4,700 offences.
“Every month we see between 300 and 500 tickets written for seatbelts or car seats, and it’s one of those things where we look at those numbers and we say ‘What’s it going to take to make it click?'” SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy said. “Seatbelts have been the law for 40 years, more than 40 years now in Saskatchewan, and I think everybody is pretty much aware that seatbelts save lives.”
McMurchy said while evidence shows that seatbelt use is less common in rural areas, the problem exists province-wide.
“The numbers do suggest that you do see a higher proportion, when taking traffic flow into account, a higher proportion of fatal collisions involving non-seatbelt use on those rural roads and on those First Nation roads. But police are catching people in the cities as well not wearing their seatbelts,” McMurchy said. “It’s not a problem that’s exclusive to any one area of the province.”
McMurchy told northeastNOW wearing a seatbelt substantially reduces your risk of death or injury in a collision.
“You’re 17 times more likely to be ejected from that vehicle if you are in a collision not wearing a seatbelt than if you were buckled up” SGI spokesperson Tyler McMurchy
“Seatbelts save lives and it’s something that most people know and most people practice. Ninety-five per cent of the people approximately wear their seatbelts but it’s that small number, that five per cent, that are highly over-represented in our traffic fatality statistics, and that’s something that’s got to change,” McMurchy said.
In 2017, 17 people were killed in collisions in Saskatchewan, due to being improperly restrained or not buckled up at all. It was also a factor in 148 injuries on the province’s roads.
Using a seatbelt could also save you some cash, as failing to buckle up is a $175 ticket. The offence also carries a three-point penalty under the province’s Safe Driver Recognition Program.
