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Home > News > Vol. XLVII No. 1, January 2003 | |
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Alberta Gets Serious About Seat-BeltsAccording to a report released on September 25, 2002, by the Alberta Occupant Restraint Program, only 76 percent of Albertans buckle up. Rural Albertans and truck drivers are least likely to fasten their seat-belts. This may explain in part why the vast majority of motor vehicle fatalities in Alberta occur in the rural areas. In about 60 percent of fatal crashes in Alberta, the victims are not wearing seat-belts.Edmonton RCMP Staff Sgt. Steve MacDonald won the 2000 National Police Award for Traffic Safety. After finding that half of the vehicle occupants killed in collisions on RCMP patrolled highways were unbelted, he initiated a crusade to increase seat-belt use in rural Alberta, with the ambitious goal of 95 percent usage by 2010. Major urban-based seat-belt surveys showed that 90 percent of Albertans were buckling up. MacDonald recognized, however, that 80 percent of Alberta's fatal crashes were on the province's rural highways and saw a need for a survey specific to these areas. He discovered that in rural areas, Alberta's seat-belt wearing rate was only 69 percent. In Spring 2002, MacDonald introduced a new tactic to reduce the number of people killed because they were not wearing a seat-belt. He spearheaded a campaign to give morgue toe-tag tickets to motorists not wearing a seat-belt. Offending drivers had to fill in their own names as "deceased" and give next of kin. "Reasons" for not wearing seat-belts appeared on the reverse of each tag; for example, "Feel you haven't lived until you've experienced compound fractures?" The approach was intended to jolt unbelted Albertans into realizing they could be killed, disfigured and maimed if they don't buckle up. Dr. Lou Francescutti, head of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, suggested making people pay some of their medical costs if hurt in a collision when not wearing a seat-belt. Alberta's health minister was "intrigued" by the idea that individuals who make the personal decision not to wear a seat-belt should be made to bear the consequences of that choice. Transport Canada's July 2001 survey of seat-belt use in Canada found that 90 percent of us buckle up.* Ontario boasts the highest seat-belt wearing rate, at over 92 percent. Alberta and Manitoba are the lowest provinces, at 85 and 82 percent respectively. Alberta has a history of resistance to seat-belts. In 1988, seat-belt legislation was challenged and initially overturned in that province, leading to a drop in usage from 83 percent to 45 percent, and a corresponding increase in deaths and injuries. * Estimate of seat-belt use by all occupants in light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, passenger vans and light trucks). The Transport Canada survey tends to focus on urban areas.
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Safety Canada January 2003 |
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 © 2003 Canada Safety Council |
