OPP Buckle Down With Seatbelt Safety Blitz
 

Operating a seatbelt is simple enough, after all it's been 30 years since putting one on became mandatory. And still, according to the Ontario Provincial Police, the message is not getting through.

Early returns from the latest OPP Seatbelt Safety Blitz are horrible, with unbuckled drivers being pulled over at a rate of one every five minutes.

Edyta Zdancewicz won't be one of them though; the Toronto woman knows the value of a simple click all too well.

"My car ended up spinning and it wound up I'd say a good 80 feet right over here," said Zdancewicz, recalling a vicious head-on collision she experienced two years ago.

Looking back on the crash noe, she knows there's only one reason she's even alive.

"It's a good thing I was wearing my seatbelt at the time," Zdancewicz told CityNews' Muhammad Lila.

"The officer on the scene at the time said I had not been wearing that there's a good chance I wouldn't be standing here today."

According to the OPP, one in three traffic fatalities that occurs in the GTA is the result of an individual not wearing their seatbelt.

One of the biggest dangers comes from children not properly secured in child or booster seats. In the event of an accident, not only is the child launched from the seat putting them in grave danger, but they also ostensibly become a projectile and can injure other passengers.

"As soon as you put that vehicle into drive put your seatbelt on," said OPP Sgt. Lisa Anderson.

The Seatbelt Safety Blitz runs until October 1, and for those wondering about punishment, getting caught unbuckled will cost you a $110 ticket and two demerit points on your driver's license.

Now getting hit unbuckled, that could cost you much, much more.