According to SGI’s Traffic Safety Spotlight, last month saw over 400 tickets issued by law enforcement province wide related to seat belts or car seats.
The majority of seat belt related tickets were for failing to wear the seatbelt properly, but a small portion was for driving with improperly buckled passengers. This includes driving with a passenger under 16 years of age who is not wearing a seatbelt, or driving with a child not in the proper restraints.
For every underage passenger not properly belted, it is an additional $175 and three demerits on your license.
SGI reminds drivers that not wearing a seatbelt leaves you more likely to be seriously injured or killed in the event of an accident. In fact, SGI says that 16 people were killed in 2017 due to not buckling up properly.
Other highlights from the February spotlight include 224 impaired driving offences, resulting in 192 Criminal Code charges. There was also 563 distracted driving offenses — 512 of which were for using a cellphone while behind the wheel — and over 4,000 speeding tickets issued, both of which are down from January’s numbers.
Last year’s legislation introduced zero-tolerance for impaired driving and allowed police to demand a roadside breath sample without reasonable suspicion, making it much more difficult to get away with impaired driving.
Distracted driving is also a top priority, as a second cellphone offense within a year results in the impounding of the vehicle for seven days.
