Jan 16, 2014 in News Car Accident

Car Accident: Police officers not wearing seatbelts is a widespread problem

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Wearing a seatbelt during a car accident can save a person's life. It should be second nature for vehicle passengers, but unfortunately this isn't always the case.

In Canada, 93 per cent of Canadians wear seatbelts. Unfortunately, it's the other seven per cent that accounts for almost 40 per cent of fatalities in motor vehicle collisions, according to Transport Canada.

Seatbelts work with airbags to prevent serious injuries that can occur when you hit something inside the vehicle, when something or someone else hits you or when you are thrown out of your vehicle. Seatbelts can save the lives of more than 1,000 Canadians.

Recently, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair confirmed that an on-duty officer that died after he was thrown out of his vehicle was not wearing a seatbelt. Const. John Zivic collided with another vehicle while rushing to a call about an impaired driver and he was thrown out of his vehicle on November 3. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead on December 2 and the collision investigation continues. The female driver of the other vehicle had non-life threatening injuries. Thousands of people attended a public memorial service in his honour and there's been a mention of mandating seatbelt use for police officers.

?I think it is very clear that when he was ejected from the vehicle that he wasn't wearing a seatbelt and that is a concern for us and our officers,? Blair said in a year-end interview with CP24. ?You know they (police officers) carry a lot of equipment on their utility belt and they are in and out of the car all the time, but that seatbelt saves lives and we want everybody to wear it and I think that is one of the lessons that can be drawn from the tragic circumstances of John's passing.?

Police officers not wearing seatbelts is a widespread problem. Over the last 30 years, 42 per cent of police officers killed were not wearing their seatbelts or restraints, according to a study done by the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2011. The study analyzed 733 crashes between 1980 to 2008. Some officers don't wear seatbelts because it slows them down and becomes tangled in utility or gun belts, the chairman of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund told USA Today.

While a school bus crash in Calgary that seriously injured three children reopened the debate for seatbelts in school buses.

Accident benefits are available to anyone involved in a motor vehicle accident. The personal injury and accident lawyers at Neinstein Personal Injury Lawyers have been dealing with all accident related issues throughout Ontario for over 50 years. We know how to get you the compensation that you deserve and get your life back in order after being in a car accident. Call us at 416-920-4242, set up a free consultation, and come speak with us.