Coroner calls for licence suspensions for Quebec drivers who don't wear seat belts
A Quebec coroner is recommending temporary licence suspensions for drivers who are caught not wearing a seat belt.
The recommendation comes after the death of Felix Demers-Dube, who was killed in a crash in the Montérégie region in early 2022. The 25-year-old wasn't wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision.
In his report, Coroner Rudi Daelman says the young man's death was preventable.
According to the Sûreté du Québec, 20 per cent of victims in fatal vehicle collisions in Quebec in 2023 were not wearing a seat belt. A year earlier it was 30 per cent.
The coroner recommended changes to the Highway Safety Code for violators to have their licences suspended for three 3 months.
Currently, a person can receive fines up to $300 and three demerit points for not wearing a seat belt.
André Durocher, CAA Quebec's director of community relations and road safety, says at one point Quebec had very high seat belt compliance.
"So maybe, wrongfully, we said, 'OK, job done,'" he said in an interview, adding that for stricter measures to work, awareness and education are key.
"It is a measure, not necessarily the measure, but nevertheless I think beforehand, in order to gain social acceptance of the measure, you have to do education upfront," Durocher said.
He recommends making sure the message is targeting the right people.
Even the Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault, apologized last summer after social media posts showed her not wearing a seat belt in a vehicle on several occasions.
Quebec's automobile insurance board, the Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), says its latest data shows seat belt use in Quebec at 99 per cent, adding it's not planning to act on the coroner's recommendation short-term.
"Immediate licence suspensions provided for in the Highway Safety Code are aimed at behaviours that increase the risk of collisions, which is not the case for failure to wear a seat belt," the SAAQ said in a statement to CTV News.
The insurance board says it will ask police forces to pay extra attention to seat belts during future road safety operations, though Durocher says those campaigns can be difficult. Many vehicles have tinted windows, making it difficult to see inside, particularly in the back.
The SAAQ also adds it may develop a seat belt awareness campaign.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.