Provincial police are urging drivers to wear their seat belts following a significant increase in the number charges over the Labour Day long weekend.
While 941 charges were laid for speeding offences during a weekend traffic campaign, Ontario Provincial Police officers in southwestern Ontario laid more than double the number of charges for failing to wear a seat belt when compared to the same time in 2021.
A total of 62 seat belt charges were doled out this past weekend, compared to 27 last year.
Police said wearing a seat belt can be the difference between life and death.
“It only takes a few seconds to buckle up. A properly worn seat belt greatly increases your chances of surviving a motor vehicle collision,” the OPP said in a news release.
Provincial police said so far this year, a total of 36 people have died on OPP-patrolled roads in seat belt-related fatal crashes. Over the last 10 years in Ontario, 542 people have died in collisions after failing to wear their seat belts.
During the Labour Day weekend, OPP officers in southwestern Ontario also laid nine distracted driving charges and 39 charges for impaired driving.
