Nova Scotians Urged to Buckle Up

SERVICE N.S./MUNICIPAL RELATIONS--Nova Scotians Urged to Buckle Up

The Nova Scotia government is asking motorists and passengers to buckle up and arrive alive. The safety reminder comes as part of Seat Belt Awareness Week, Nov. 10-16. Law enforcement agencies will step up roadside inspections and promote seat belt use during the week.

"Fastening a seat belt takes only a second and it saves lives," said Angus MacIsaac, Minister of Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations, whose department is responsible for the Registry of Motor Vehicles. "Every year, we hear of needless tragedies that could have been averted had seat belts been used properly."

Buckling up is one of the quickest and easiest things motorists and passengers can do to increase their chances of surviving an automobile collision. Proper use of a seat belt increases the odds of surviving a collision by 50 per cent, and the odds of avoiding serious injury by 45 per cent. When people are thrown from their vehicle, 75 per cent of the time they die before help can arrive.

Many Nova Scotians do buckle up, said the minister, although there is room for improvement. Roadside spot checks show that 85 per cent of urban drivers and passengers use seat belts while only 60 per cent of those from rural areas do. The rural hazard is increased because it may take longer to notice, report and respond to a collision in less-populated areas.

The government is also reminding people to use child safety seats for younger children, booster seats for children up to 27 kilograms (60 lbs.), and lap and shoulder belts for adults and older children. Sixty-nine per cent of all five- to nine-year-old children killed in the province die in automobile collisions.

"It's important to recognize that children and adults have different bodies and, because of that, different needs," said Michael Ryan, Road Safety Advisory Committee coordinator at Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations. "Using the proper safety device is the key."

Mr. Ryan explained that many parents mistakenly use seat belts designed for adults to protect their school-aged children. To accommodate the smaller bodies, parents sometimes put the shoulder harness under the child's arm or position the lap belt over the child's stomach or chest.

"Children are simply too small or too light for adult seat belts," said Mr. Ryan. "In a collision, they either slip out of the safety device or suffer internal injuries. Booster seats are the preferred alternative until a child is big enough for adult belts."