Results of Transport Canada's survey of seat belt use in Canada, 2002-2003

NHTSA · 2004 · ROSA P / Canada. Transport Canada

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Summary

This report presents the findings of Transport Canada’s observational surveys on seat belt usage in rural and urban communities during 2002 and 2003. The study was conducted as part of the National Occupant Restraint Program (NORP), a component of Road Safety Vision 2010, which aims to achieve a 95% seat belt usage rate by 2010. These surveys were the first to measure usage rates separately for rural and urban populations, providing baseline data to support initiatives aimed at reducing road casualties. The methodology involved observational surveys at intersections across Canada. The rural survey, conducted in September 2002, targeted front-seat occupants of passenger cars, pickup trucks, minivans, and SUVs at 124 sites. Due to stop signs limiting observation time, back-seat occupants were not recorded. The urban survey, conducted in September 2003, targeted all occupants at 260 sites with traffic lights, allowing for longer observation periods. In total, 105,385 vehicles and 151,566 occupants were observed. Combined data calculations focused on front-seat occupants to ensure consistency between the two surveys. The results indicated that 87.4% of front-seat occupants in Canada used seat belts. Urban communities showed a slightly higher usage rate (87.6% for front seats) compared to rural communities (85.0%). Significant variations existed by vehicle type, with pickup truck occupants exhibiting the lowest usage rates (80.0% nationally) compared to passenger cars (88.9%) and minivans/SUVs (88.1%). Gender analysis revealed that female drivers had higher usage rates (89.3%) than male drivers (86.5%), a trend consistent across most provinces and vehicle types. Age-related trends showed that drivers aged 25 to 49 had the highest usage rates (88.1%), followed by those 50 and older (87.9%), while drivers under 25 had the lowest rates (85.2%). Provincial data highlighted Quebec and Nova Scotia as having usage rates above the national average, while the territories and British Columbia fell below. The significance of these findings lies in their contribution to the Road Safety Vision 2010 goals. The data identifies specific demographic and geographic groups with lower compliance, particularly pickup truck drivers and younger drivers in rural areas. These insights provide the evidence base necessary for developing targeted measures to increase seat belt usage and reduce injuries and fatalities associated with non-use of restraint systems.

Key finding

Front seat occupants of pickup trucks had a significantly lower seat belt usage rate of 80.0% compared to 88.9% for passenger cars and 88.1% for minivans and SUVs.

Methodology

on_road

Sample size: 151566

Provenance

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Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

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• seat belt use

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence