Interior Deaths Highlights Non Seatbelt Compliance

February 16, 2012

The BC Coroners Service has released details of a new study that says over 40% of people who died on Interior roads in 2010 were not wearing seatbelts.

The Coroners says the Interior was chosen as an area of focus because of a high proportion of people not wearing the safety devices.

And in the past three months, four people have died on roads in our region in accidents which investigators say involved improper, or no seatbelt use.

RCMP Sgt Derrick Donovan with West Kootenay Traffic Services says recent checks by officers have reinforced the need to educate people about the importance of wearing seatbelts.

Of the four local incidents, all of the victims were male including a 25 year-old who died near Fruitvale after a crash which police told us involved "horrendous speed."

The Coroners Service cites several studies claiming seatbelt use is the single most effective step vehicle occupants can take to prevent death during a crash.