A spring road safety crackdown will target city motorists who fail to buckle up and those who put unsafe vehicles on the road.
Staff-Sgt. Rick Lavigne said city police’s Integrated Road Safety Program conducts the same campaign twice a year to remind people of road safety as the seasons change. Seatbelt compliance here is 92 per cent but Lavigne said, “We want to see 100 per cent, but we’re not there yet, of course.”
Over the past five years in Ottawa, 28 people have been killed as a result of not wearing a seatbelt. Another 63 people suffered life-threatening injuries, and 353 people were injured.
“In collisions, we see people who are not belted being killed. That’s one of the main factors of why we’re focusing on vehicle occupant restraints.”
From April 21-27, Ottawa Police and Ottawa Public Health nurses will be conducting spot checks to ensure seatbelt usage and to see that child car seats are properly secured.
“People need to be aware of what they’re doing and follow the rules of the road,” said Lavigne. “We’re going to be out there.”
Unsafe vehicles will also be blitzed. In 2007 on city roads, 94 unsafe vehicles were involved in reportable collisions that caused two deaths and 33 injuries. Vehicle defects such as bad brakes and suspension systems and tire blowouts were blamed as the cause.
Since 2004, police have been selecting two traffic safety initiatives every month to enforce public awareness in Ottawa.
