This Easter long weekend, the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is encouraging all motorists to buckle up as it conducts a seatbelt safety campaign.
In the last full five-year period, from 2019 to 2023, the deaths of 296 people on OPP-patrolled roads have been attributed to not wearing a seatbelt, according to provincial police.
In 2023, 67 fatalities on OPP-patrolled roads were attributed to seatbelts not being worn and officers laid close to 10,000 seatbelt charges.
"Attending the scene of a fatal collision is one of the most difficult calls for service that our front-line officers and emergency partners respond to," OPP Commissioner Thomas Carrique said in the release. "More often than not, if seatbelts had been worn, lives would have been saved.
"Wearing a seatbelt and ensuring children are properly restrained gives you and your family the best chance of surviving and reducing injuries if you are involved in a collision. Please buckle up," he added.
The OPP patrols more than 130,000 kilometres of roadway and over 99,000 kilometres of waterways and trails throughout Ontario.
296 people have died in collisions in the past 5 years.
— OPP Highway Safety Division (@OPP_HSD) March 27, 2024
Investigators have determined that the primary contributing factor in these collisions was that they were not wearing a seatbelt.
Please #BuckleUp.
It is the law, but more importantly, it could save your life. ^ks pic.twitter.com/7H9y5F7hjE
