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12 - The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 16, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Buckling up is bound to save your life By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF If your car goes from 120 kph to zero in the fraction of a second what will happen to you? The answer depends on whether you were wearing a seatbelt, which is why Halton police are using their annual Spring Seatbelt Campaign to remind motorists to buckle up. The campaign will see police spot checks in place throughout Halton from April 16-27 and will specifically target not only people who do not wear seatbelts, but also people who do not properly secure their children when driving. According to Halton Police Chief Gary Crowell, an unused seatbelt was a major contributing factor in at least four of Halton's 24 traffic fatalities, last year. This trend is continuing for 2008 with one person already dead and another critically injured from a Halton crash in which neither party was wearing a seatbelt. "The bottom line is that seatbelts can make the difference as to whether someone lives or dies in a serious collision," said Crowell at a press conference on Monday. "In fact more than one third of all people killed in traffic collisions are not wearing their seatbelts." Despite these sobering statistics, Crowell said many Ontario drivers are still not getting the message especially LIESA KORTMANN /OAKVILLE BEAVER SEATBELTS FOR SAFETY: The Halton Regional Police Service kicked off the 2008 Spring Seatbelt Campaign on Monday with a media event at the Halton Regional Police Headquarter Building. Here Christine Barber, Halton EMS and Acting Sgt. Julian Divney check drivers along Bronte Road for seatbelts. when it comes to ensuring the safety of young children. "Only about 34 per cent of Ontario children, between the ages of four and eight, are properly secured when traveling in a motor vehicle," said Crowell. Since the prospect of dying needlessly is not enough to convince some people to buckle up, Crowell noted the steep penalties for seatbelt infractions, which include a $110 fine and two demerit points. The importance of seatbelts was echoed by Christine Barber of the Halton Emergency Medical Service, who has witnessed the difference the use of a seatbelt makes in a traffic accident. "We recently responded to a single vehicle roll-over, which closed a major highway during rush hour. The driver sustained only minor injuries thanks to the seatbelt and the airbag," said Barber. "Unfortunately the other passengers received life-threatening injuries. They had to be airlifted by air ambulance to a trauma centre and this was because they were ejected from the vehicle because they were not wearing seatbelts." In other instances, Barber said she had to waste valuable treatment time searching for people who have been through clear of an accident. "I've had to join search parties and scour ditches and ravines to look for passengers, who have been ejected. A driver has said there were three other people in the car, but we can't find them," said Barber. "I've also had to search in the dark, listening to the cries of patients, who were ejected from cars at night because they weren't wearing their seatbelts." To prevent such tragedies from happening in the future Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn noted that the provincial government has taken action by passing the one-person one-seatbelt law, which states all occupants in a vehicle must buckle up. Child safety has also benefited from recent provincial legislation. "We made it mandatory for anyone transporting children to ensure that they're properly secured in an appropriate child safety seat or a booster seat and we've introduced penalties for those who don't use child safety seats," said Flynn. "We know kids are safer in child car safety seats and booster seats and yet nearly 20 per cent of the children, under eight years old, who were involved in a fatal collision were not protected by a seatbelt or a child safety seat." After the speeches, Crowell, Barber, Flynn and Regional Chair Gary Carr moved outside to participate in the campaign's first police spot check taking place on Bronte Road. Constable Mike Tidball, who was among the officers manning the spot check, noted the campaign was off to a good start with not a single violation found in 45 minutes of checking. "They're doing really good actually," he said of the motorists. "They've got their seatbelts on." MADNESS HYUNDAI OF OAKVILLE ONE DAY ONLY! THIS THURS, APRIL 17TH INCREDIBLE 25TH ANNIVERSARY CASH PURCHASE PRICING! 100s OF VEHICLES. 16 HOURS. 1 INCREDIBLE OPPORTUNITY! FABULOUS SELECTION OF 2008 SONATAS IN STOCK. FREE BBQ BOTH THURSDAY & SATURDAY! TORONTO HYUNDAI Two Dealers. Multiple Benefits. 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