Road Safety

Seat Belt Use in Québec: Some Background History

1976 to 2007: More Than 30 Years of Raising Public Awareness

• In 1976, wearing a seat belt was made mandatory for all front seat occupants.
• In 1985, only 53.4% of front seat occupants wore their seat belt.
• In 1987, the SAAQ launched a first awareness campaign, combining advertising and province-wide police surveillance. The rate of seat belt use suddenly rose to 86%.
• In 1988, at the end of the Road Safety Year, the rate of seat belt use reached and remained stable at 82%.
• In 1990, the year seat belt use by rear seat occupants became mandatory, another awareness campaign was held. This comprehensive campaign helped Québec rank first among Canadian provinces for seat belt use.
• In June 1999, a Transport Canada survey of daytime drivers showed that Québec still ranked first for seat belt use (94.9%).
• In 2004-2005, in a similar survey, Québec ranked fifth (90.9%) for occupants as a whole.
• In 2006-2007, another Transport Canada survey showed that Québec ranked fourth after gaining slightly more than 2% for daytime use, and (93%) for occupants as a whole.