"The evidence is clear - buckling up could save your life and the lives of your loved ones. " Kathleen Wynne, Minister of Transport

Ontario’s seatbelt law is celebrating its 35^th birthday on January 1, 2011

Today, 92.8 per cent of all Ontarians buckle up – that’s up from just 17.2 per cent who wore seatbelts before the mandatory law took effect.

Ontario was the first province to require all drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelt. The McGuinty government has since expanded the law to include:

• Increased fines for seatbelt, child seat, and booster seat violations
• A requirement that every vehicle occupant be buckled up – one person, one seatbelt
• The mandatory use of appropriate booster and child car seats at all times, whether children are driving with a parent, grand parent or other caregiver.

Since Ontario’s seatbelt law first came into effect in 1976, the number of people killed and injured in motor vehicle collisions has steadily dropped and it is estimated that seatbelt use has saved over 8,000 lives.