Legislation regarding seat belt use in Canada is a provincial/territorial responsibility. Each of the 13 jurisdictions has enacted legislation and set the penalties regarding non-use of seat belts and appropriate child restraint systems. The federal government regulates occupant restraint systems and child restraints. In addition, Transport Canada (TC) gathers annual survey data on the use of seat belts and child restraints on Canadian roads and provides research support. National coordination toward the Canadian Road Safety Vision 2010 goal of a 40% reduction in fatalities and serious injuries related to non-belt/child restraint use and a 95% restraint usage rate is provided by the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators' (CCMTA) National Occupant Restraint Program (NORP). The paper examines the history of legislation, provincial/territorial penalties, NORP, and TC involvement in promoting the use of occupant restraints.

This paper describes differences between younger and older drivers on a number of measures of risky driving, risk perception, and risk utility taken during a national household survey (N=2,207) conducted in Canada in 1986. Young drivers (16 to 24) were more likely to engage in risky driving habits (e.g., following too closely, speeding) and they were more likely to have been involved in accidents and violations. Only the 21- to 24-year-olds were less likely to report seat belt use than the older drivers. Moreover, there was some indication that impaired driving was reported more frequently among the youngest age group (16 to 20). Young drivers perceived less danger in a variety of driving situations (e.g., driving while impaired, unbelted in front seat) and they perceived safety countermeasures to be less effective overall in reducing casualties. With respect to risk utility, young drivers placed less importance on safety features when buying a new car compared to older drivers but it was actually the oldest drivers (50 and over) who were least willing to pay for safety features. Intercorrelation of the risky behaviours revealed a moderate degree of consistency, but this consistency appeared to be greater among youth. There was little evidence that the predictors of risky driving differed substantially as a function of age.

The National Vehicle Occupant Restraint Survey was conducted to provide information about Canadians' concern for and perception of traffic safety, attitudes toward and use of seat belts, attitudes toward and use of child restraints and attitudes toward passive occupant restraints (i.e. air bags and automatic seat belts). Part I of this report provides a summary of the survey's major findings and Part II describes the methodology for the survey. Part III addresses Canadians' concern for safety and their perception of the traffic safety problem while Part IV deals with their attitudes toward and use of seat belts as well as their favourability toward seat belt use legislation. In Part V, the attitudes and actions of parents concerning child restraints are detailed while Part VI shows the knowledge and attitudes of Canadians toward air bags and automatic seat belts. The results of this survey provide background information for the development of traffic safety countermeasures in Canada. (Authors)

A study was conducted to determine whether both attitudinal and normative factors would make unique contributions to the prediction of self-reported seat belt use in an area where seat belt use is compulsory. Two samples of drivers were interviewed concerning their attitudes toward seat belt use and the seat belt legislation, social influence of others, reported belt usage and demographic information. The results for the first sample (N = 445) indicated that attitude toward the seat belt legislation, attitude toward seat belts, social pressure and perceived belt use in the community jointly predicted reported belt use (R = 0.69). The correlation between predicted belt use and reported belt use (r = 0.57) in the crossvalidation sample (N = 438) was close to the multiple correlation obtained for the first sample. The implications of these results for promoting seat belt use are discussed.

The present study was conducted to assess the predictive validity of the Motorcycle Operator License Skill Test developed by McPherson and McKnight. About one year after taking the Skill Test, 63% of these motorcyclists were interviewed about their riding experience, riding exposure, training, accident involvement and demographic characteristics. Univariate analyses indicated that a greater proportion of motorcyclists who passed the Skill Test had had a motorcycle accident compared to motorcyclists who had failed the Skill Test. Motorcyclists who passed the test did not differ from motorcyclists who failed the test in the proportion who had had a reportable accident where someone was injured or the property damage exceeded $200.00. The examination of continuous Skill Test scores revealed that the higher the score (i.e. the more skilled), the greater the number of accidents in which the motorcyclists has been involved. This was particularly the case for the exercises which measured turning speed judgement and quick stopping on a curve. However, this relationship may have resulted from the fact that individuals with high scores on the Test tended to be younger and to have ridden further distances. When these variables were controlled in a discriminant analysis Skill Test, scores did not contribute to the discrimination between accident and no accident groups.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Canada Safety Council's Motorcycle Training Program (MTP) in reducing motorcycle accidents and traffic violations among its graduates. A sample of 811 MTP graduates and 1,080 IT motorcyclists were interviewed about their motorcycling during the past 4 years including riding experience, riding exposure, accidents and violations. Univariate analyses indicated that a smaller proportion of MTP graduates had had an accident compared to IT motorcyclists. Also MTP graduates were less likely to have had a reportable accident where someone was injured or property damage exceeded $200.00. Moreover, MTP graduates were less likely to have committed a traffic violation compared to IT motorcyclists. However, MTP graduates compared to IT motorcyclists were older, had travelled less and were more likely to be female, all characteristics associated with low accident and violation involvement. In order to control these differences, a discriminant analysis was performed on the accident and violation data. Distance travelled, age and sex significantly discriminated between the accident and no accident groups such that the likelihood of having an accident was greater for motorcyclists who were younger, male and had travelled further. It was concluded that although the MTP does not appear to have reduced motorcycle accidents among its graduates, it does appear to have reduced traffic violations. Since there was no random assignment to training conditions, these conclusions are not unequivocal. Therefore, future research should be conducted using random assignment to evaluate the MTP as well as other programs for motorcyclists. (IT refers to informally trained motorcyclists.)

The impact of a Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (S.T.E.P.) on seat belt usage in the Ottawa area was studied, the program consisting of greater police surveillance, increased charging of violators, and mass media publicity. In Kingston (control city) no change was made in seat belt enforcement legislation. A stratified sample of drivers was interviewed concerning attitudes in surveys conducted in both cities before, during, one month after and six months after the program. During the program, both the actual number of charges and the perceived number of charges increased in Ottawa, while no changes in actual charges occurred in Kingston. Subjective probability of being charged for not wearing a seat belt increased in both cities during the program. Observed seat belt usage in Ottawa increased from 59% to 80%, but was unchanged from the baseline level of 54% in Kingston; self-reported usage increased in Ottawa but not in Kingston. One month and six months afterwards, observed and self-reported seat belt usage was still higher than the baseline level in Ottawa, but subjective probability had returned to baseline level. The data supported predictions that the effects of increased enforcement on traffic violations may be mediated by subjective probability of being charged. The unexpected increase in subjective probability in Kingston, despite lack of seat belt enforcement, may have been due to increased enforcement of other traffic offences, suggesting that selective traffic enforcement may have carry-over effects on other offences. A threshhold of subjective probability may have to be attained before compliance occurs. Unexpected attitude changes are discussed in terms of reactance.

In a study which provides both accident and exposure information from the same sample of individuals, a random sample of 2277 motorcyclists in Ontario, Canada were interviewed concerning their travel patterns, accident history, and personal characteristics. Results show that, relative to exposure, accidents occurred more frequently when a rider was traveling alone, without his headlight on, and on a trip in the city. A discriminant function analysis was conducted to identify the variables which differentiated accident-involved from accident-free riders. After miles traveled had been controlled as a contributing factor, age, the report of riding after consuming alcohol, the number of months licensed, and marital status were the discriminating variables. In the high-accident group (15-19 year old, single, individuals who reported riding after drinking and had held a license less than two years) 53% of the respondents had been involved in an accident in the last four years, and 20% had been injured. In the lowest accident group (26 years old or older, married, never rides after drinking, licensed for more than five years), only 14.8% had been in an accident in the last four years and only 1.6% had been in an injury accident. When exposure (km. ridden) is taken into account, these differences increase dramatically, with the high-risk group having an accident rate 18 times greater than the low-risk group. Possible countermeasures suggested include raising the licensing age and an alcohol interlock on motorcycles.