BACKGROUND:

Canada's Road Safety Vision 2010 recognizes the contribution of seat belt use and child safety seats to the reduction of traffic fatalities. Since the early 1970s, the number of vehicles on Canada's roads has doubled, yet the number of traffic fatalities has been cut in half. Initiatives, including Operation Impact, campaigns promoting the proper use of child restraints, the creation of national coalitions and partnering with police, have all contributed to making Canada's seat belt use rate amongst the highest in the world and contributed to the reduction in fatalities and serious injuries.

The proper use of occupant restraints remains the most cost-effective method available to reduce death, injuries and economic loss resulting from motor vehicle collisions. In 1989, the Council of Ministers Responsible for Transportation and Highway Safety agreed to employ all possible means to achieve a 95% seat belt use rate by the end of 1995. In response, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) developed and implemented the National Occupant Restraint Program. As a first step, a Phase I proposal called for each jurisdiction to achieve an 80% use rate by the end of 1990. At the same time, a Phase II Proposal was developed which outlined a five-year program aimed at achieving a 95% use rate by the end of 1995.

In October 1996, the Council of Ministers approved NORP 2001 with the goal to achieve and maintain a 95% occupant restraint use rate in all seating positions in light-duty vehicles (passenger cars, passenger vans and light trucks) in each jurisdiction to the year 2001.

The Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) Task Force on NORP has continued to work on delivery of the recommendations set out within the NORP 2001 strategy. However, further action is needed to increase the proper use of seat belts and child restraints, and thereby reduce the deaths and injuries on Canada's roads. Unbelted road user casualties still account for a sizeable proportion of injuries and deaths on Canada's roads. On average, 40% of all occupants killed and 21% of those seriously injured annually in Canada were unbelted at the time of the collision. In real numbers, these percentages translate to nearly 900 people killed and almost 3,000 people injured annually who were not buckled up. Of those killed, the typical non-belted occupant was under 25 years old, had been drinking and likely died when ejected from the vehicle in a single vehicle crash on a rural road (Unbelted Fatally and Seriously Injured Drivers in Canada 1993-1997, Paul Gutoskie, Transport Canada 1999).

According to Transport Canada's 1997 Survey of Child Restraint Use, the proper use of child restraints was 67.7% in 1997, based on random roadside observations. The proper use for children under 16 years of age was 79.9%. Child inspection clinics, which examine individual child seats in more detail, place proper use lower, ranging from as low as 10% to 30%. Exposure to risk on the road for children is also increasing. As the number of families with two working parents increases, there is a corresponding increase in the number of young children travelling on the road. Ontario found that between a 1984 and 1991 survey, there was a 27% increase in the number of children travelling in motor vehicles. Current research and evaluation is needed on the use, misuse and effectiveness of child safety seats including further effort into public education programs, enforcement activities and policy changes. In addition, with the onset of ISOFIX and new technologies, there will be a high demand for public education regarding these new child seats and corresponding policy changes may also be required.

OBJECTIVES:

The new overall target for Road Safety Vision 2010 is to decrease the average number of road users killed and seriously injured by 40% for 2010. Increasing seat belt use and child occupant protection is a key initiative to help achieve that target. NORP Strategy 2010's targets, in line with Road Safety Vision 2010, are to:

Achieve and/or maintain a 95% seat belt wearing rate by all vehicle occupants and proper use of child restraints by 2010. This enhanced target now applies to all motor vehicle occupants rather than to passenger vehicle occupants alone.

Achieve a 40% reduction in the number of unbelted fatally and seriously injured vehicle occupants by 2010. While annual seat belt use surveys suggest that nine of ten Canadians wear seat belts on a regular basis, almost 40% of occupants killed and 20% of those seriously injured had not buckled up.

These targets will be monitored annually and reviewed in 2006.

STRATEGIES:

Seat belts and child safety seats continue to save thousands of lives in Canada and no other countermeasure can achieve the same level of savings. Enforcement, education and legislation are the three key elements needed to increase the use of seat belts and child safety seats.

The effect of enforcement can be seen in the results of Transport Canada's survey of seat belt use across the country, where dramatic dips in enforcement have resulted in corresponding dips in the use rate. Changes in the way enforcement is used can be anticipated to accommodate the growing pressure on the enforcement community.

To be effective, public education needs to be targeted and staged. Common messages with simple straightforward language need to be implemented. Public education strives to raise awareness; identify responsibility with the problem and finally communicate best practices leading to a change in attitude then a change in behaviour. Several strong seat belt and child safety seat campaigns have been noted across the country however, a unified voice will increase the effect further.

Effective legislation helps provide the foundation for behaviour change and for setting the standards and expectations which guide enforcement and education. The universal adoption of legislation that simplifies and clarifies the law and reduces the chances for misuse and non use of seat belts and child safety seats will result in increased usage.

The following strategies are recommended for jurisdictions as a guide to meet NORP Strategy 2010 targets and Road Safety Vision 2010 targets. Efforts in enforcement, education and legislation must remain a priority. It is the combination of these elements that will result in the greatest gains. No one action alone will result in achieving the targets NORP Strategy 2010 has set:

• Each jurisdiction remove all exemptions for the non-use of seat belts and child safety seats

• Develop a cost / benefit analysis to show how increased seat belt usage and correct and enhanced use of child seats provides an injury reduction benefit.