THUNDER BAY – Today, Hammarskjold students challenged fellow students, teachers and community groups to buckle up relays in effort to raise awareness that it takes only a moment to be safe. 

Wearing a seatbelt is the single most effective thing we can do to protect ourselves and other passengers in a motor vehicle collision. Ontario currently has a seatbelt compliance rate of 92.1% which is slightly above the national average of 90.5%.  The Buckle Up Ontario 95% Challenge is an effort to increase seatbelt use to 95% or better.  For every 1% increase in seatbelt use in Ontario, five lives are saved per year.

“Young people, both as drivers and passengers, have the lowest rate of seatbelt use”, says Judi Marton, Public Health Nurse working in Injury Prevention at the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.

“One of the reasons given for not buckling up is that it takes too much time.  Today, the Hammarskjold students proved that it takes only seconds.  On average, buckling up takes about three seconds of time. Even fastening a seatbelt 20 times a day adds up to only one minute”.   

Since 1976, when seatbelt legislation was first introduced in Ontario, an estimated 8,000 lives have been saved.  More than 300,000 people have walked away from collisions where they would have suffered injuries if they had not been buckled. 

The 95% Challenge is a provincial initiative presented by the Ministry of Transportation and the Seatbelt Committee of Ontario.  The Quick Click Buckle Challenge is a community-based event presented by the Community Traffic Awareness Committee and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit.  It is supported by Thunder Bay Police, Thunder Bay Fire & Rescue Service, Emergency Medical Services, RCMP, Subway and Half-Way Motors Ltd.    

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