It was thought that fastening your seat belt in a car was acquired like brushing your teeth.
We were convinced that the time when drivers sat on their belts was over. Well no. There are still motorists who shun the belt, risking their lives.
The most recent statistics, unveiled last week by the Sûreté du Québec, are disturbing: 30% of victims of fatal accidents in 2022, that is to say 79 people, were not attached. There were an average of 54 per year between 2013 and 2017.
These data collected on the territory of the SQ, and which therefore do not include the big cities, echo the statistics of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ) which come to the same conclusion: a little less than a third of victims who have died in a road accident in recent years were not wearing their seat belts.
However, the law which obliges drivers and their front passenger to buckle up is not new. It came into force in 1976! And it’s been 33 years since the rear passengers have had to buckle it too. What is not clear?
A study on the wearing of seat belts carried out in Belgium in 2018 – when the proportion of people who died in a road accident who were not wearing their seat belt reached 46%! – identified some of the attitudes of delinquent drivers: distraction, comfort, the fact of covering a very short distance or driving at very low speed. The authors of the study also noted that women were slightly more likely than men to wear their seatbelt. Finally, it was pointed out that the behavior of the driver greatly influences that of the other passengers in the car. If he wears his belt, the others imitate him in a proportion of 95%.
Other statistics, from Quebec these, show that the higher the alcohol level of drivers and passengers involved in an accident, the less the seat belt was worn.
At CAA-Quebec, another, more surprising explanation is suggested: the individual pro-freedom movement that has grown in recent years. For some drivers, wearing a compulsory seat belt would interfere with their sacrosanct “freedom”. This is a possibility that should not be ruled out.
The SAAQ’s last awareness campaign on seat belts dates from 2019. The slogan – “Fasten up all the time” – did not shine by its originality, but it had the merit of being clear.
An evaluation of the campaign – made up of radio messages and animations broadcast on the web and in social networks – was deemed effective by the research firm Som. On the other hand, 77% of the rear passengers who had not worn their seatbelts during the 12 months preceding the campaign had replied that they had not felt challenged by the SAAQ’s message.
They are the ones to target in the next campaign which will have to be launched sooner rather than later. We are talking about avoidable deaths after all.
That said, an awareness message alone will not work miracles.
It must be accompanied by a series of measures, starting with the obligation for all vehicles to be equipped with a sound system which warns rear passengers to buckle up.
We can also reassess the amount of fines for offenders, which currently range from $200 to $300, and which are accompanied by 3 demerit points. A more severe fine would probably be more of a deterrent.
If that’s what it takes to remember such an obvious safety rule as wearing a seat belt, let’s not delay.