Safety Equipment

What do you have stored in your vehicle to protect yourself in the event of a breakdown or collision? Most of us will probably reply that they don't have anything prepared for this eventuality. In fact, with the reliability of vehicles today and perhaps not having been involved in a significant collision before, we may be lulled into thinking that we don't really need it.

Complex automation known as advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) can now control the vehicle’s speed, headway, and lane position, and capabilities continue to expand. Drivers need to understand these new vehicle features in order to use them effectively and appropriately.

This video from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia explains that airbags can be dangerous to young children seated in the front seat or leaning against the vehicle's door. It's very important to learn about air bag safety to help protect your child.

A new vehicle sold today is equipped with a backup camera to help insure that the driver has as complete a view to the rear as possible to insure safety while backing up. An IIHS study compared the crash rates of cars with and cars without backup cameras. Overall, cars with cameras were 17% less likely to be involved in a police-reported backup crash. Why was the reduction so small?

CarFit is an educational program operated in a partnership between the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists and the Canadian Automobile Association. Originally designed to offer older adults the opportunity to check how well their personal vehicles "fit" them, drivers of any age may benefit.

We all know that the law requires that we wear our seat belts when driving. The Motor Vehicle Act says in part "..wear the complete seat belt assembly in a properly adjusted and securely fastened manner." Why should we worry, and how do we know what is proper?

Two women once appeared for trial on on of my traffic court dates. Both were disputing a ticket for failing to wear a seat belt under section 220(4) of the Motor Vehicle Act. They each testified that they were wearing their seat belt, but had placed the shoulder belt under their arms.

When I learned to drive more than 4 decades ago, seatbelts were becoming standard equipment on all vehicles. Fast forward to today and we have seatbelts, multiple airbags and a host of automatic systems designed to either avoid a crash or minimize the damage to us if we are in one. Why then do some of us ignore the systems that are there for our protection?

Q: I have a truck that the previous owner installed 4 point harness seat belts in. The previous owner drove the truck on the road regularly. I just want to see if the 4 point harness is legal to use or if I should swap them out for the stock seatbelts.

Q: I'm wondering what the offense is if I carry 3 passengers in a vehicle that's only equipped for two? If one passenger was seated on the floor / a box between the two installed seats? It's a 3 ton truck.