Seat belt-related deaths on the rise: OPP

Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is reminding everyone to buckle up after a recent spike in the number of seat belt-related deaths in 2019.

Police say 42 people who were not wearing seatbelts died in collisions on OPP-patrolled roads so far this year. It is a 20 per cent increase in the number of seat belt-related deaths over last year.

“The OPP’s front-line officers know first-hand from responding to tens of thousands of motor vehicle collisions every year that a driver or passenger’s best chance of surviving a crash is by buckling up and benefitting from the proven, science-based protection a seat belt is designed to provide,” said Deputy Commissioner Rose DiMarco, Provincial Commander, Traffic Safety and Operational Support.

Over the past five years, OPP has investigated 233 motor vehicle deaths that were linked to a lack of seat belt use. Police say 103 unbuckled riders who died in the collisions were ejected from the vehicle while the remaining 130 victims were not ejected but died of injuries sustained inside the vehicle.

OPP officers are gearing up for their Fall Seat Belt Campaign where police will conduct education and enforcement initiatives aimed at getting drivers and passengers to do their part to save lives by buckling up and ensuring children are properly restrained.