President's Perspective
On Labour Day weekend five years ago (August 31, 1997), the Princess of Wales was killed in a motor vehicle crash. Investigators later determined that if she had been wearing her seat-belt, she may have survived.
That tragedy mirrors many less public crashes that are just as devastating. One simple precaution - wearing a seat-belt - can make the difference between life and death.
In 2000, there were 2,969 fatalities on Canadian roads. A survey that year by Transport Canada found that over 90% of those surveyed were wearing seat-belts. Only 8% of drivers and 9% passengers were not. Yet 37% of drivers and 35% of passengers killed in crashes were unbelted. The 8 or 9% of people who didn't wear seat-belts accounted for over 820 fatalities.
This huge disparity shows you are much more likely to survive a crash with your seat-belt on, or conversely, you are much more likely to be killed if you don't wear it.
Unbelted vehicle occupants become "missiles." In a serious collision, they can suffer secondary impacts, hit other occupants or be ejected. If ejected, they are 23 times more likely to be killed than those properly belted inside the vehicle.
The chances you will survive a crash are not 100% even if you have your seat-belt on. Wearing a seat-belt greatly increases your chances of survival but does not prevent the crash from happening. Defensive driving is always the first line of defense.
There were, of course, two other notorious factors in that tragic crash five years ago — speed and alcohol. There is no substitute for a safety conscious, sober driver.
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