Road Safety

Troubling Statistics

The Rate of Seat Belt Use

A Transport Canada survey conducted in 2009 and 2010 revealed that the rate of seat belt use for all occupants of a vehicle in Québec was 96%.

However, according to a survey conducted by the SAAQ in 2010, seat belt use among drivers dropped to 92.9% during night time hours (10 p.m. to 3:30 a.m.). In fact, the rate of seat belt use among drivers decreases as the night grows later, from 93.3% between 10 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. to 91.4% between 2 a.m. and 3:30 a.m.

Furthermore, the Transport Canada study conducted in 2009-2010 showed that the rate of seat belt use among rear seat occupants in Canada was 89.2%.

A Troubling Record

People who do not wear their seat belt are over-represented in accidents. More than 30% of drivers killed in a fatal crash had not buckled up. More than 37% of drivers under the age of 25 who died between 2006 and 2010 were not wearing a seat belt.

Each year, from 2006 to 2010, an average of 120 individuals (drivers and passengers) killed in an accident were not wearing their seat belt. In addition, an average of 315 individuals sustained serious injuries under the same conditions.

When SAAQ records were matched with records from the coroner's office for 2005-2009, it was discovered that with deceased drivers on whom blood-alcohol tests were performed, the rate of seat belt use decreased as the blood-alcohol level increased. For a blood-alcohol level between 0 and 80 mg/100 ml of blood, 73% of deceased drivers were wearing their seat belt, whereas for a blood-alcohol level of 81 mg/100 ml of blood or higher, only 42% of drivers had buckled up.

If all vehicle occupants used their seat belt, 60 deaths and 160 serious injuries could be prevented every year.

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