Seatbelt-related road deaths at lowest figure in 20 years, say OPP

(SOUTHERN BRUCE COUNTY, ON) - The OPP is reporting a 20-year low and a steady decrease in seatbelt-related deaths as officers get set to conduct their Seatbelt Campaign over the Easter Long Weekend.

A total of 45 seatbelt-related road fatalities occurred on OPP-patrolled roads in 2016, marking the lowest number on record in the past 20 years. Also notable over the 20-year period is the number dipping below the 50 mark for the first time, in 2015 and 2016 (see data below). 
   
The OPP attributes the downward trend, in part, to its Provincial Traffic Safety Program. The program is a proactive, high-visibility approach to traffic safety enforcement and education that focuses on lack of seatbelt use and other high-risk behaviours that account for the majority of OPP-investigated deaths on roads, waterways and trails.
  
Since its implementation in 2007, the program has contributed to significantly fewer traffic fatalities overall. While seatbelt-related fatalities have proportionately decreased through the success of the program, unbuckled vehicle occupants continue to lose their lives, keeping seatbelt education and enforcement a traffic safety priority for the OPP. 

"The evidence that supports the effectiveness of seatbelt use remains irrefutable," says OPP deputy commissioner Brad Blair, provincial commander, Traffic Safety and Operational Support. "The odds of surviving or avoiding serious injuries in a collision are stacked against those who are not restrained in their seats. In exchange for the few seconds it takes to buckle up, you can cross this risk off the checklist of things that threaten your life on the road."

"It only takes a moment to buckle up and it can save your life, or the life of your loved one," says Marie-France Lalonde, Ontario minister of community safety and correctional services. "I commend the OPP for undertaking Seatbelt Campaigns. They are an important reminder that help keep our roads safe. Please help prevent unnecessary tragedy by making sure everyone in a vehicle with you is safely buckled up."

Over the Easter Long Weekend, road users can expect to see high police visibility as the OPP carries out its April 14-17 Seatbelt Campaign. Officers hope to see all drivers and passengers buckled up, as well as children safely restrained.       
 
SEATBELT-RELATED FATALITIES (past 20 years, OPP-patrolled roads only)

2016 - 45                                              2006 - 93
2015 - 46                                              2005 - 110
2014 - 51                                              2004 - 112
2013 - 67                                              2003 - 122
2012 - 78                                              2002 - 114
2011 - 68                                              2001 - 150
2010 - 88                                              2000 - 152
2009 - 65                                             1999 - 150
2008 - 76                                             1998 - 151
2007 - 109                                           1997 - 168
 
QUICK FACTS
 

•  Drivers are responsible for ensuring children who are not big enough or old enough to use a seatbelt, are secured in an appropriate child car seat or booster seat.
•  The OPP Provincial Traffic Safety Program focuses on lack of occupant restraint, distracted, impaired and aggressive driving (known as the Big Four), with the aim of reducing deaths and injuries on OPP-patrolled highways, trails and waterways.