Montreal police issued more than 600 tickets for seatbelt violations during a one-week campaign earlier this month, including dozens to motorists on the West Island.
From June 2 to 8, a total of 2,237 tickets were issued to Quebec motorists for failing to buckle up, including 665 tickets on Montreal Island.
In the West Island, Montreal police Constable Hélène Jubinville said officers working out of Station 5 in Pointe-Claire handed out 14 tickets, 10 to drivers and four to passengers. More tickets were issued by officers working out of Stations 1, 3 and 4, however, exact numbers were unavailable.
L’Opératon Ceinture was directed at educating Quebecers who continue to spurn the law.
Seatbelts have been mandatory in Quebec since 1976 and, it is estimated that nine out of every 10 drivers now buckles up. But those who fail to buckle up put themselves at 30 per cent great risk of death if they are in a collision, according to data from the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec.
When a vehicle traveling at a speed of 50 km/h is in a collision, the force of the impact can turn a 70 kg object, including a person, into a 1,400 kg projectile.
Under Quebec’s Highway Safety Code, anyone who fails to buckle up faces a fine of $80 to $100 and three demerit points. Quebec and Ontario were the first two provinces in Canada to introduce seatbelt legislation.