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Seat belts, air bags and car seats help to save lives.
(NC)-Canadians are among the most mobile people on earth. Our enormous country has 900,000 kilometres of roads, 22 million licensed drivers and 19 million registered vehicles. And although the number of deaths on our roads has been cut in half over the past 25 years due to higher safety standards, better and wider roads, increased enforcement and changes in public attitudes and improved medical treatment, the problem is far from solved.
Since 1998, nearly 30,000 people have died in motor vehicle crashes in Canada. Over 200,000 have died over the past 50 years, more than were killed in both world wars combined. Drinking and driving, speeding, not wearing a seat belt and failing to obey traffic signs account for the majority of our fatalities.
There are several ways to reduce your risk of dying or becoming seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision. One of the best ways, of course, is to wear a seat belt. Although 93 per cent of Canadians use their seat belts, the seven per cent who do not account for almost 40 per cent of fatalities.
In a collision, the front of your vehicle crumples or crushes to absorb the energy of the crash and to protect the shape and form of the area in front of you, sometimes known as the "life space" (dashboard, steering column, air bag). On impact, everyone and everything inside the vehicle move toward the point of impact. Seat belts and air bags work together to bring you to a gentle stop. If you are unrestrained, most of the safety features don't fully function and you can become a human projectile.
Anything you can do to keep from being ejected, hitting something inside the vehicle or having something hit you will greatly increase your chances of surviving a crash. And that, quite simply, is what seat belts; air bags and child car seats are all about.
Plans are underway to hold the first ever "National Day of Remembrance for Road Crash Victims" on November 19 to raise awareness of road safety and promote ways to prevent road traffic injury and death on our roads. Information and downloads on how to get involved are available on the Transport Canada website at www.tc.gc.ca/hookedonroadsafety/awareness.htm.