Safety Equipment

We are going on a drive through Canada and the US in a large motorhome that only has shoulder strap seatbelts for the driver and co-pilot. All other seatbelts are lap-belts only. My 7-year-old son requires a booster seat when we are in the car, but what do we do in the RV? Front seat? Back seat with booster? Back seat without booster?

Behind the driver, behind the passenger, or middle?

Our elementary-school child's booster seat says to check the car's documentation for proper placement; our car's documentation says to check the booster seat manual for proper placement.

I remember what I was a teenager (yes, that was a few years ago) working in my father's service station. The latest safety gadget in new vehicles was a buzzer that warned the driver when seatbelts were not fastened. That's a good idea, right?

The YouTube description of this video says that "Simulated crash tests show the importance of proper child restraint installation. Most parents don't realize they need to use the top tethers for forward-facing child restraints. Attaching the top tether keeps the restraint from pitching too far forward in a crash putting children at risk of head or neck injuries. Tethers are key to getting the most protection from a child restraint."

We buy products that we expect will perform according to the manufacturer's claims for them. In this case the product is a restraint for our canine friends when they ride in our vehicle with us. The claim is that the restraints will protect the animal. CBC Marketplace testing finds the contrary, our expectations may be putting both our pets and ourselves at risk.

Steven Levitt shares data that shows car seats are no more effective than seatbelts in protecting kids aged 2 to 6 years old from dying in cars. However, during the Q&A, he makes one crucial caveat regarding a medical study that shows car seats significantly reduce injury.

Part of the investigation of any serious motor vehicle collision is an examination of the seatbelts to determine if the person in that seating position was restrained or not. The outcome could determine whether a ticket for failing to wear the restraint was issued or not but I suspect that more commonly the information was used to determine liability. If you were not wearing your seatbelt your award for injury could be reduced by the courts.

Effective on February 26th, 2014 you will no longer be able to submit an application to be exempt from wearing a seatbelt for medical reasons. The Canadian Medical Association’s Driver’s Guide states in Section 24 that “there are no medical circumstances that justify exemption from wearing a seat belt.” After this date doctors will no longer be able to issue exemptions.

I am finding discrepancies when I ask drivers of mini-buses whether they make their passengers wear their seat belts. I used to have my Class 4 license and we were always required to make sure the passengers had them on. Some drivers and companies seem to think this is optional depending on the passenger.

The incident that gave rise to this case occurred on November 17, 2006 at Kamloops and the court proceedings determining liability ended last week. Adrianna Browne was driving a pickup truck carrying temporary farm workers from a Knutsford farm to the New Life Mission downtown. The trip ended on Long Lake Road when the truck went down an embankment, rolling several times.