Adults and children are at risk without proper seatbelt restraint. Drivers will be reminded over the next week that it?s the law for drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelt in Ontario, as police services across Ontario join forces for the 2004 Spring Seatbelt Campaign, from April 16 through to April 24.
OPP officers will focus on reducing fatalities and serious injury, by ensuring everyone uses their seat belts and children are buckled properly into their car or booster seats.
?Seatbelts save lives,? Monte Kwinter, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services, said. ?Motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of serious injury and death among children and youth. Everyone has a responsibility to ensure every passenger in their vehicle is wearing a seatbelt or is securely fastened in an approved child or booster seat. The police can only do so much to protect us. The rest is up to us. ?
Transport Canada estimates that for every one per cent increase in seat belt usage, five lives could be saved in Ontario every year, making this the single most effective way to reduce vehicle-related injuries and fatalities.
