How One Driver’s Near Deadly Encounter With A Tractor Trailer Lead To A Crash Course In Seat Belt Safety

Two words that can save lives. But like all good medicine, it only works if you use it properly.

Tony Esho is grateful he did.

Eight years ago, he was driving on the Q.E.W. when he ran headlong into a giant tractor trailer. It’s no surprise who won the encounter.

“At that moment when I faced that tractor and trailer I…said this is the last second that I’m ever gonna live,” he shudders. “And I survived only because I had my seat belt on.”

Figures show 43 percent of all traffic deaths are a result of people not wearing their seatbelts. Nearly all those fatalities are completely preventable.

“You would think that would be the sort of thing that would wake you up,” suggests Brian Patterson of the Ontario Safety League. “Fifty percent more people have been killed this summer as a result of not wearing a seat belt than in previous years. That’s a huge increase and something we have to be very much concerned about.”

Tony’s car was totaled in the accident. But thankfully, that’s all he lost.

“The car never had any bumper left on it,” he remembers. “There was no hood. The whole front end was gone.”

And he has some basic advice for anyone who hates using the car restraints. “Just buckle up,” he pleads. “I’m here. I survived because I buckled up.”

Seat belts actually originated in the 1800s, but became familiar to the public when daredevils in the early days of flight first started using them in the early 1900s.

The kind we know in automobiles appeared in Ford cars in 1956. But until laws changed three decades ago, drivers in Canada weren’t required to wear them.

The penalty for getting caught without one strapped around you in Ontario now can be a belt in your wallet – $90 and two demerit points, plus a $20 ‘victim surcharge’.

And it’s not just for drivers. Under the rules, cops can cite any passenger who’s not buckled up regardless of which seat they’re in.

The rules apply even if you’re in a taxi.

The same penalty applies to children, who must either be in a properly installed safety seat or  restrained by a seat belt. How can you tell when it’s O.K. for them to use it?

According to the M.T.O., here’s when your kid can finally get out of the restraining seats and into a cinched belt:

• When a child turns eight years old
• If a child weighs 36 kg (80 lb.)
• If a child is 145 cm (4’9″) tall

If you’re confused about how to use a child safety seat, you can hit Yorkdale Shopping Centre next Friday between 6am and 11am. That’s when the O.P.P. and BreakfastTelevision will be teaming together for a free clinic to show you the right way to install the safety devices.

But adults should practice what they preach to their kids. Cops have heard every reason in the book about why people refuse to use buckle up. Here are some seat belt excuses along with the truth behind each myth.

“I’m a good driver and never have an accident.”

Too bad not everybody else is. Those people who aren’t can still hit you and send you or a loved one flying through a windshield, leaving you with a concussion or whiplash.

“I’m not going far”.

It doesn’t matter. Stats show the majority of accidents actually take place within about 40 kilometres of your home and when you’re travelling 60 kilometres an hour or less.

“The belt will trap me in the car if I have an accident.”

It’s unlikely. Being thrown out of your vehicle in an impact is far more likely to kill you or injure you than if you manage to stay inside the interior. And if you’re not knocked unconscious by the impact because you had your belt on, you’ll be able to get out a lot faster.

“I can brace myself for impact.”

Maybe, but you need split second stuntman-like timing – and don’t forget those specialists know it’s coming. You won’t. An unexpected crash would likely break whatever you were using to brace yourself, including your arm or your leg.

“My car has airbags, so I’ll be protected in an accident.”

The safety devices enhance the protection provided by seat belts – they don’t replace them. And unless you have a high end vehicle, they generally can’t help you in a side impact crash.

“They’re not very comfortable.”

 You might have been able to say that in the old days, but modern seat belts are actually so unobtrusive, you might forget you even have them on.

For more information about seat belts and safety training seminars, click here.