BACKGROUND
The National Occupant Restraint Program (NORP) is an important element of
Road Safety Vision 2010 – an ambitious partnership approved by the
federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for transportation
and highway safety to make Canada’s roads the safest in the world. The
objective of NORP is to achieve a minimum rate of 95% in seat belt usage and
in the proper use of child restraints by all motor vehicle occupants by
2010. Part of Transport Canada’s contribution to this program is to conduct
observational surveys of seat belt use. In September 2004, Transport Canada
conducted an observational survey of seat belt use in rural communities
across Canada. In September 2005, the same survey was conducted in urban
communities.
METHOD
The September 2004 and September 2005 surveys measured the seat belt
usage rate separately in rural Canada and urban Canada. Rural Canada was
defined as towns with a population of less than 10,000 but more than 1,000
that are located outside any census metropolitan area, as defined by
Statistics Canada’s 2001 national census. Urban Canada was defined as
communities with a population over 10,000, plus those communities with a
population of less than 10,000 that are located within a census metropolitan
area.
The rural survey targeted all the occupants of light duty vehicles including
passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
The survey occurred over the week of September 22 to September 28, 2004, and
involved 252 sites. Each observation period was two hours long and took
place during daylight hours (between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.). A total of
39,769 vehicles and 58,743 occupants were observed during the course of the
study.
The urban survey targeted all occupants of light duty vehicles including
passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans and SUVs. This survey, which was
conducted over the week of September 15 to September 21, 2005, involved two
separate observation periods at each of 263 sites. Each observation period
was one hour long and took place during daylight hours (between 6:30 a.m.
and 7:30 p.m.). A total of 84,129 vehicles and 118,226 occupants were
observed during the course of the study.
Therefore, during the two surveys, a total of 123,898 vehicles and 176,969
occupants were observed at 515 sites across Canada.
HIGHLIGHTS
- In Canada, 90.5% (± 0.2%) of occupants of light-duty vehicles buckle
up. In urban communities, an estimated 91.1% (± 0.2%) of all occupants,
while an estimated 86.9% (± 0.7%) of all occupants of light-duty
vehicles in rural communities use seat belts. The national seat belt
usage rate measured in the 2004-2005 surveys is is about 4 percentage
points higher than that measured in the 2002-2003 surveys.
- The rate of seat belt usage in Canada is much lower among occupants of
pickup trucks (84.8%) than among occupants of passenger cars (91.9%) and
minivans and SUVs (91.9%). Specifically looking at drivers, the rates
were 92.4% for passenger cars, 91.9% for minivans and SUVs, and 85.5%
for pickup trucks. Similar trends were evident in both the rural and
urban communities of the country.
- A higher percentage of female drivers wore seat belts (93.9%) than
male drivers (89.8%) in Canada. The higher rate of seat belt usage by
females was consistent across all three vehicle types and all provinces
and territories.
- The proportion of drivers wearing seat belts tends to increase with
the driver’s age group, but this finding is not consistent across all
jurisdictions. In Canada as a whole, the proportion ranges from 87.0% of
those under 25, to 91.8% of those 25 to 49 and 92.1% of those 50 and
older.
- The rate of seat belt usage in Canada is lower among the back seat
occupants (84.9%) than among the front seat occupants (90.5%). The
higher rate of seat belt use by front seat occupant is generally
consistent across all jurisdictions with a few exceptions.
CONCLUSION
Road Safety Vision 2010 is targeting a decrease of 30% in the average
annual number of road users killed or seriously injured during the 2008-2010
period compared with 1996 2001. Sub targets include reducing casualties
resulting from non-use of restraint systems and decreasing casualties
resulting from crashes occurring on rural roadways.
The urban and rural seat belt wearing surveys summarized here represent one
of a number of important Vision 2010 initiatives undertaken by the NORP Task
Force. The survey results will help build a business case for the adoption
of measures to increase seat belt usage rates in Canada by 2010.
The results suggest that Canada is making some progress toward the 95%
target for seat belt use for all occupants of light duty vehicles.
PDF VERSION
You may download
the full report Transport Canada’s Surveys of Seat Belt Use in Canada,
2004-2005 in Portable Document Format (PDF) (145 Kb).
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If you need an alternative format or for more information, please contact us by e-mail at
RoadSafetyWebMail@tc.gc.ca
or call toll free 1-800-333-0371 (Ottawa area (613) 998-8616).
Road Safety and Motor Vehicle
Regulation Directorate
Transport Canada
Tower C, Place de Ville
330 Sparks Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0N5
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