Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education Additional Supports ...

Policy/Law Impact on Health
Seat Belts:
• Provincial statue/ law in Ontario.
• Highway Traffic Act- fine $110.00 and 2
demerit points.
Air Bags:
• In Canada it is not mandatory for air bags
to be installed, however when they are,
they must meet specific safety regulations.
• Motor vehicle manufacturers are
developing ÒsmartÓ air bags, which possess
2 thresholds of activation: one for a belted
occupant, and a lower threshold for an
unbelted occupant.
• Some vehicles already have a manual cutoff
switch that disables the passenger-side
air bag.
• Seat belts and air bags have been shown to
reduce injury by 61% and hospitalization
by 33%.
• Seat belts accomplish this when used
correctly by restraining car occupants
during collisions.
• There have been cases where occupants
have been killed by seat belts but these are
rare.
• Most deaths and serious collision resulting
in injuries happen in cars travelling under
65 km/hr. Even in low speed, if a person is
not wearing a seatbelt he/she hits the inside
of the car with the force of many times
his/her weight.
• Helps the driver control the car in a crash.
• Serious injuries occurring to passengers are
often caused by being thrown into each
other or thrown from the vehicle.
• A seat belt can save your life by keeping
you unhurt and alert, and allowing you to
escape.
• Less than one-half of one percent of all
crashes result in fire or being submerged
under water.
• Statistics have shown that air bags save
lives.
• Air bags do not take the place of seat belts
but reduce the forward movement of the
upper torso and minimize impact.
• Air bags provide protection in head on
crashes.
• There have been cases where occupants
have been killed by air bags deploying,
although these are rare.
• Air bags can deploy in low speed head on
collisions.
• To reduce the risk of being injured, wear
your seat belt, adjust front seats as far to
the rear as possible to give the air bag as
much room as possible to inflate.
• You can be thrown out of the car therefore
wear your full seat belt assembly.
Grade 11 Healthy Active Living Education (PPL30), Module #3 Violence and Risk Taking Behaviour
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