A close look at seat belt-related road deaths on OPP-patrolled roads in recent years suggests that males place far less importance on wearing a seat belt than females do.
Over the past five years a total of 332 people have died in collisions as a result of not wearing a seat belt. According to OPP data, 261 of the victims were males and 71 were females.
As the OPP prepares for Labour Day weekend, they are sharing some insight into seat belt attitudes and why they believe there have been almost four times as many male seat belt-related deaths as female deaths in the same causal factor category.
All drivers and passengers need to acknowledge the fact that if they do not buckle up; they are at a significantly greater risk of dying in a collision that can be caused by the irresponsible actions of a distracted, impaired or aggressive driver.
OPP data also revealed that over the past five years more than three times as many unbuckled drivers (252) died in collisions as unbuckled passengers (80).
The number of seat belt-related deaths among children under 16 years of age remains the lowest of all other age groups.
Between 2011 and 2015, nine children have died because they were not properly restrained in the vehicle.
