Compliance rates are improving but rural Canadians continue to lag their city cousins in obeying seat-belt laws, says Transport Canada.
The main culprits are young rural males driving pick-up trucks, says Bill McCauley of the department’s road safety and motor vehicle regulation section.
“I suspect there are a number of reasons but the demographic is very clear,” he said. “It is the young male driving a pickup that most often does not use the seat-belt.”
According to the roadside survey of more than 123,000 vehicles in 2004-05, slightly more than 90 percent of drivers wore seat-belts – 91.1 percent in the cities and 86.9 percent in rural and small town areas.
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Compliance rates were up almost four percent generally from 2002 but just two percent in rural areas. Transport minister Lawrence Cannon said in a News release
news announcing the survey results that compliance rates still are too low. Federal and provincial ministers have set a goal of 95 percent compliance by 2010.
“A significant number of Canadians continue to put themselves at risk by not wearing their seat-belts,” said the minister.
McCauley said part of the reason for lower rural use likely is that there are fewer police on rural roads.
“I would say the issue of enforcement and the expectation of enforcement is part of it.”
As well, speeds are lower on two-lane roads and there is less traffic congestion.
Road safety education does not seem to be as widespread or as effective in rural areas, said the federal official.
At the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, information officer Kieran Green said the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association has sometimes flagged seat-belt use when operating farm equipment but has not extended that to private driving.
“I don’t believe we have ever targeted seat-belt use in private road vehicles,” he said.
