A drive home in 2014 from a hockey game in Pense, Sask., has been burned into Josh Campbell’s memory.
He was coming back to Regina on Highway 1 and took a left onto Campbell Street to get back into Harbour Landing. When he encountered a closed road, he turned back to return to the highway. While doing so, his Honda Fit slid on the ice – into the path of an oncoming semi.
“The impact pushed the whole steering column, the engine, everything diagonally away from me. I was conscious the whole time, and spun four or five times. It was like a crazy rollercoaster,” Campbell recalled.
Campbell had to be cut out of the car with the Jaws of Life. Despite the severe damage his car suffered, the only injury he sustained was a sprained ankle.
“I just am grateful that I’m alive, and good safety ratings on that little car I guess,” he laughed.
This experience is why Campbell shared his story with SGI as part of their February Traffic Safety Spotlight. Throughout the 2018 spotlights, police across Saskatchewan tracked 4,700 tickets seatbelt violations.
Spokesperson Tyler McMurchy says insurance agency data indicates about 95 per cent of people in the province do use their seatbelts.
“It’s that five per cent or less that are highly over represented in our traffic fatality statistics. In 2017, 16 people lost their lives in collisions where not wearing their seatbelt was a factor,” McMurchy said.
Not using a seatbelt properly also attributed to 148 injuries in 2017, based on SGI data.
A national study says people are 17 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle in a collision without a seatbelt, and twice as likely to die if ejected.
In addition to seatbelts, McMurchy added the driver is responsible for making sure passengers under 16-years-old are properly secured in a vehicle, and those under eight should be in a car seat. SGI does sponsor car-seat seminars throughout the province.
The fine for not using a seatbelt is $175. However, it can cost you much more in a collision. For Campbell, wearing a seatbelt gave him the chance to see his daughters grow up.
“To think about those girls growing up without me is pretty hard to think about,” Campbell said. “The years I’ve had with them since that accident, they’re… if you’re a dad you know. It’s very special.”