Safety Equipment

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.

Paul Stein was convicted of failing to wear a seatbelt for an incident that occurred on Hillside Avenue in Victoria, B.C. He was observed by Sergeant LeBlanc who pulled him over and issued the ticket. Mr. Stein's argument was that he was a commercial vehicle driver engaged in frequent stops and was exempt from having to wear a seatbelt.

I haven't been a grandpa for long, but little children are suddenly interesting for me again. They seem to catch my attention more easily and this was the case a few days ago while I was driving in Nanaimo. The little boy involved was sitting on his mother's lap while they rode in the back seat of a taxi.

One exemption from having to wear a seatbelt during normal operation of a motor vehicle is when one is a delivery driver who travels at 40 km/h or less and makes frequent stops. The Motor Vehicle Act does not define what the term "frequent stops" means.

Today's vehicles are very complex machines that I'm willing to bet few of us read the operator's manual for. The active and passive safety systems in them can do a better job of protecting us if we understand how they work. The Brain on Board web site is full of written and video information to help you become comfortable with all of the high tech safety systems in your vehicle.

This short video from ICBC shows you how to properly adjust your head restraint. A Canadian study on headrest use, funded by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), found that only 14 per cent of Canadian drivers (more women than men) had their headrests adjusted in the 'good' position. For 53 per cent of the drivers observed, the adjustment was so inadequate that it would not protect them from injury in a rear-end collision.

If I am the driver of a motor vehicle and I have an adult passenger who refuses to wear their seat belt and I operate such vehicle Who will recieve the ticket if the party in question has no valid drivers license and has no Formal ID??

Question: I have a question regarding the seatbelt exemption sometimes referred to as the "Milkman Exemption." My understanding is that it applies to drivers who make multiple vehicle stops and exits within a confined area (i.e. one street or a bay or boulevard) as they are not in general traffic and never get going very fast (exemption requires speeds of 40 km/h or lower).

We have a 1956 Ford Victoria, no seatbelts of course. I know it is legal for us to not have seatbelts on, but what about kids who are of the age that they no longer need a booster seat? Can we legally take them out in the car? Our grandsons are always wanting to go for a ride, and we say no as we do not have seat belts. What do you have to say about this?