Did You Know?
Transport Canada reports that:
- 83% of front seat occupants of light duty vehicles in BC buckle up. The national average is 87%.
- Seatbelt wearing rates are lower in rural areas, with occupants of pick-up trucks having the lowest wear rate at 77.5% nationally.
- While most people in Canada do wear their seatbelts, the individuals who do not wear seatbelts significantly contribute to the total number of traffic fatalities. The 10 per cent of non-compliant vehicle occupants (i.e. those who do not wear seatbelts) make up 40 per cent of total traffic fatalities.
- Younger males, 19 to 25 years, have the lowest wearing rates. In Canada, the annual casualties among those who do not buckle up are 1000 killed and 3400 seriously injured.
- Most fatal injuries occur in a single-vehicle crash on a rural road when someone is thrown out of the vehicle. The person killed is usually less than 25 years old and has usually been drinking.
- Seatbelt wearing rates are lower at night when drinking driving is most common.
