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Manitoba government proposes stricter seatbelt requirements


May 10, 2013   by Canadian Underwriter


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The Manitoba government has proposed amendments to the province’s Highway Traffic Act that would require stricter seatbelt use.

Seatbelt

Under the proposed amendments, each passenger in a vehicle would be required to occupy a seat and use the seatbelt provided. Passengers in wheelchairs would also need to be secured with a seatbelt.

“We want to ensure seatbelts are used properly to give passengers the best chance of surviving a collision,” the province’s Infrastructure and Transportation Minister Steve Ashton commented in the announcement.  “Restraints are proven to be a life-saving part of vehicle safety designs.”

The proposed legislation changes would also prohibit transporting passengers in a vehicle’s cargo area, such as the back of a pickup truck, and would restrict the number of passengers to the number of seatbelts in the vehicle.

The government’s announcement comes just before Canada Road Safety Week, which runs from May 13 to May 20.

Increase in collision claims last year: MPI

Last year, the province had a 7.8% increase in collision claims, according to Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI).

“There were 161,466 collision claims reported last year compared to 149,764 in 2011,” MaryAnn Kempe, MPI’s vice president of community and corporate relations noted in a statement.

“Many of these collisions were directly related to drinking and driving, speeding, aggressive driving and distracted driving – all behaviours which can be easily changed,” she added.

Roughly 100 people are killed on Manitoba roads each year, according to MPI. About a quarter of those fatalities are due to distracted driving, according to MPI data.

“This increase in collision claims has both a human and economic cost,” Kempe noted. “It’s estimated that collision costs will be more than $330 million in 2012/13, an 11.5 percent increase from 2011-12.”

Throughout the Road Safety Week campaign, Canadian police services across the country will be ramping up enforcement and raising awareness surrounding the “Big Four” major causes of death and injuries on roadways: impaired driving, aggressive driving, distracted driving and failure to wear or improper use of seat belts.


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1 Comment » for Manitoba government proposes stricter seatbelt requirements
  1. Alex Cruikshank says:

    in the past, if your vehicle was manufactured prior to 1972, you were not required to have seat belts in Manitoba. I have two vehicles (1965 and 1967 Chev trucks) which do not have seat belts – never did. Am I required to install seat belts in these vehicles for use on Manitoba roads?

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