Vehicle Safety
Air Bags:
Designed to be used together with seatbelts, air bags provide life-saving protection. Air bags deploy in a fraction of a second and with great force. To minimize injury risks, drivers and passengers should buckle up and sit at least 25 cm away from a frontal air bag so that it has room to deploy. Air bags are 12% effective at reducing deaths.
Child Seats:
Car crashes are sudden and violent. Your arms can't hold onto an infant or child during a collision and seatbelts are designed for adults. Use a certified, correctly used child seat for children up to the age of 9. All children 12 and under should be properly restrained in the back seat and never place a rear-facing child seat in a vehicle seat equipped with an active frontal air bag. A properly used child seat can reduce the risk of death by up to 71%.
Contact the Child Passenger Safety Program toll-free at 1-877-247-5551 or visit the child seat section of our website for more information.
Seatbelts:
We are all aware that seatbelts save lives, but some of us still don't buckle up, particularly on short trips or when riding in the back seat. A crash can happen anywhere - even half a block from home - so buckle up, no matter how short the trip. Seatbelts double your chances of surviving a crash.
Head Restraints:
A head restraint isn't a place to rest your head - it's an important safety feature. By simply making sure the top of your head restraint is at least level with the top of your ears (higher is even better), and that it is less than 10cm from the back of your head you can help prevent serious neck injuries, including whiplash. Check your head restraint every time you ride in a vehicle.
Anti-lock Braking Systems (ABS):
Contrary to what many people believe, anti-lock braking systems do not let you drive faster or stop sooner. In fact, on wet and dry roads your stopping distance will be about the same as it would be with conventional brakes. ABS use electronic controls to prevent the wheels from locking during hard braking. The main benefit of ABS is that you can steer around the object that you are heading towards, even while applying maximum brake force. Drivers are sometimes startled by the noise the system makes or the pulsating brake pedal. Learn the correct technique and practice it, so that you're ready in an emergency.
Safety Tips:
- Turn on your lights day and night to make you more visible to other road users. Daytime running lights may only activate headlights, not taillights.
- Frontal air bags provide life-saving protection in frontal crashes by preventing the head from hitting the steering wheel, windshield, or dash.
- Side air bags deploy during side impacts or rollovers, and provide buffers between the occupant and the doors.
- Always wear both the lap and shoulder belt of your seatbelt. Wear lap belts low over the pelvis and shoulder belts snugly over the shoulder and across the chest. Placing a shoulder belt behind your back, under your arm or reclining your seat may result in serious injuries.
- Booster seats are an important safety device for children between 4 1/2 and 9 years old (over 40 lbs). A seatbelt is not designed to fit a child. Don't move your child to a bigger child seat or a seatbelt too soon.
- Ensure you have the correct tires on your vehicle, best suited for your specific driving needs. Check the tread and air pressure regularly. An improperly inflated tire can result in a dangerous blowout.
| Speakers: | Click on any of the following for a profile: |
