Buckle up: OPP conducting seatbelt safety campaign over Easter weekend

Provincial police in southwestern Ontario are cracking down on seatbelt use over the Easter long weekend.

OPP officers are conducting a seatbelt safety campaign, hoping to see every driver and passenger buckled up rather than being handed a provincial offence notice for non-compliance with this important law.

In the West Region in 2023, 28 deaths were due to not wearing a seatbelt, say OPP. So far in 2024, five deaths in the region were attributed to not buckling up.

On a provincial level, in the last full five-year period (2019-2023), the deaths of 296 people on OPP-patrolled roads have been attributed to not wearing a seatbelt.

"Attending the scene of a fatal collision is one of the most difficult calls for service that our frontline officers and emergency partners respond to. More often than not, if seatbelts had been worn, lives would have been saved. Wearing a seatbelt and ensuring children are properly restrained gives you and your family the best chance of surviving and reducing injuries if you are involved in a collision. Please buckle up,” says Thomas Carrique, OPP Commissioner.

Province-wide OPP statistics:

• · In 2023, 67 fatalities on OPP-patrolled roads were attributed to seatbelts not being worn.
• · The OPP laid close to 10,000 seatbelt charges in 2023.
• · The OPP patrols more than 130,000 kilometres of roadway and over 99,000 kilometres of water-ways and trails throughout Ontario.