Adding up the Reasons to Buckle Up
447 tickets for seatbelts and car seats in January
In January, SGI reminded the public that there are a million reasons why everyone should buckle up. Results from the January Traffic Safety Spotlight added another 78,225 reasons.
Where does that number come from?
Well, last month, police issued 447 tickets for improperly restrained drivers or passengers, including:
380 tickets to drivers not wearing a seatbelt
+47 tickets to passengers not wearing a seatbelt
+20 tickets to drivers for children not restrained in the correct booster or car seat
447 tickets
Each of those tickets cost $175.
447 x 175 = 78,225 more reasons they should’ve buckled up.
(Seatbelt tickets also come with three demerit points, which can lead to additional financial penalties or loss of insurance discounts under the Safe Driver Recognition program. Even more reasons!)
Of all the reasons you should wear a seatbelt, the most important one is the fact that it significantly increases the chance that you’ll escape serious injury or death in the event of a collision. In Saskatchewan, the approximately five per cent of people who don’t wear seatbelts represented one-third of drivers or passengers who lost their lives in auto crashes. In 2021, 20 drivers or passengers were killed while not wearing a seatbelt. Ample evidence proving seatbelts save lives is as easy to find on the Internet as buckling up.
Other results from January:
- 369 impaired driving offences, including 214 Criminal Code charges;
- 4,109 tickets for speeding and aggressive driving offences; and
- 609 tickets issued for distracted driving, including 534 for using a cellphone
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