Saskatchewan RCMP officer shares excuses given by drivers who don’t wear seatbelts

A member of the Saskatchewan RCMP is sharing a list of excuses he’s heard from drivers who refuse to wear their seatbelts.

Carlyle RCMP Sgt. Dallyn Holmstrom recently compiled a list of excuses he’s heard from drivers who failed to buckle up. But motorists must know, these excuses did not work and they still received a $175 ticket.

“Ask any police officer and they’ll tell you the list of excuses they’ve heard from people not wearing their seatbelts is long,” said Sgt. Holmstrom in a media release.

“But really, there is no excuse for not wearing one. That applies to both drivers and passengers. It’s really one of the easiest things you can do to help keep yourself and your passengers safe in the event of a collision: simply ensure everyone is buckled up before you get going.”

The Chief Operating Officer of the Auto Fund said people who don’t wear their seatbelts are much more likely to be killed in a vehicle crash.

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“Consider this: more than one-third of all vehicle occupants who died in Saskatchewan auto collisions last year were not buckled up,” said Penny McCune.

“That level of overrepresentation is concerning, since the vast majority of people do wear their seatbelts.”

Sgt. Holmstrom’s list of seatbelt excuses given by drivers include:

• “I’m a careful driver. I don’t need a seatbelt.”
• “Wearing a seatbelt makes me feel restrained.”
• “Seatbelts are uncomfortable.”
• “I forget to buckle up sometimes.”
• “I’m too big to wear a seatbelt.”
• “I’m not travelling very far or very fast.”
• “I want to be able to exit the car quickly.”
• “I don’t want to get stuck inside the car during a crash.”
• “Seatbelts cause injuries during crashes.”
• “I’m driving a bigger vehicle that will protect me in case of a crash.”

RCMP encourage everyone to strap in, because SGI will be talking about seatbelts all month long on their social media pages.

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