Clunk-Click; Buckle Up for Safety; Buckle Up America; Click It or Ticket; Operation ABC Mobilization; Buckle Down to Buckle Up; Buckle Up: Disappoint Mr. Death— These are ad campaigns from countries around the world that have run at various times in the last 30 years. Is there anyone in the motor vehicle-driving world who hasn’t at least heard that wearing a seat belt is a good thing, safer than not wearing one? Is the world now divided simply into two camps: those who do buckle up and those who don’t? Can anything new or fresh or different be said to convince non-bucklers that failing to buckle up is not good, as well as being against the law?

Section 220 of the British Columbia Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) sets out the law in British Columbia requiring the use of seat belts. It has 10 sub-sections. The first subsection defines “seat belt assembly"—the statutory term for seat belt—as, “a device or assembly suitably fastened to the motor vehicle composed of straps, webbing or similar material that restrains the movement of a person …to prevent or mitigate injury to the person and includes a pelvic restraint (a lap belt), an upper torso restraint (a shoulder strap) or both of them." The effect of the next subsection is to require that all motor vehicles (except motorcycles) in British Columbia manufactured after December 1, 1963 have at least 2 “seat belt assemblies for use in the front seat in accordance with the regulations." The effect of the third sub-section is to make it illegal to drive a motor vehicle in which the seat belt “has been removed, rendered partly or wholly inoperative or modified to reduce its effectiveness."

Subsection 4 says that a person in a motor vehicle being driven or operated on a highway (this would include the driver and all passengers) “must, if the motor vehicle has properly attached to it a seat belt assembly for the seating position occupied by that person, wear the complete seat belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner." This translates simply as, “If there’s a seat belt for the seat you’re in, you must use it." Subsection 8 qualifies this by providing that “Despite this section, if a seat belt assembly consists of a [lap belt] and a separate [shoulder strap], only the [lap belt] need be worn."

Subsection 5 sets out four exceptions to this requirement: if you are driving in reverse; if you have official medical certification that you are not able to wear a seat-belt for medical reasons or because of certain physical characteristics; if you are engaged in work requiring you to get in and out of a motor vehicle “at frequent intervals" and that you are restricted to driving no faster than 40 km/h; and if you are under age 16.

The last exception does not allow children and young teens (i.e., under 16 years) to ride in cars without restraint. Rather it sets the stage for subsection 6), which expressly obligates all drivers to ensure that all their passengers between the ages of 6 to 16 wear seatbelts. Subsection 7 creates two exceptions to this obligation: if the passenger is medically certified as unable to wear a seat belt or is engaged in work that requires him or her to get in and out of the slow-speed vehicle frequently (a newspaper deliverer?).

Our courts have looked closely at this section in a number of cases. One of the most noteworthy, a decision of the Supreme Court of Canada, determined that even if the parent of a child passenger is in the car with the child, the driver still has a duty of care to that child to ensure that his or her seat-belt is in place.

Subsection 9 provides for the making of regulations concerning child seating and restraint systems. Future articles will address these regulations in more detail. Essentially they require that children up to 10 kilos (22 pounds) must sit in an infant seat facing the rear of the car. Children between 10 and 18 kilos (22 to 40 pounds) must sit in a child safety seat.

Subsection 10 creates the offence of not wearing a seat belt and specifies a fine of “not more than $100."

Seat belt assemblies, i.e., a lap belt and shoulder strap hold you down and back so that you stop when the car stops. Without them, the force of an impact may either drive your body against or through the car structure or throw you outside the car. The statistics on the effectiveness of seat belts are conclusive. Surveys show that the percentage of Canadians who appreciate the need to wear them and who do wear them is high. The stubborn but declining smaller group—young men (17 to 39 years of age)— who do not use seat belts may be up against some new tactics. A recent poll revealed that more than half of Canadians (55 per cent) think that people who get into car accidents and are found not to have been wearing their seat belts should pay for some of their medical bills.

Cedric Hughes of Hughes and Company Law Corporation with contributions from Leslie McGuffin, LL.