It’s been law since 1985 in Nova Scotia but many still don’t wear their seatbelts.
The RCMP’s Southeast Traffic Services covers Queens and Lunenburg counties.
They fined 170 people last month for not wearing their seatbelts – including drivers and passengers.
Constable David Cullen with the unit, says they were focusing on seatbelts in March as a part of their yearly enforcement calendar.
But he says, they were suprised by the amount of infractions.
“We did put extra focus on it, we committed part of our shift to strictly looking for people without seatbelts on,” he says “But normally we might be less than 20 (seatbelt infractions) for the month.”
Cullen says wearing safety restraints lowers the rate of fatalities in accidents.
Because they handed out so many tickets, they’re continuing their focus on seatbelts into April.
Cullen also noted there were no fatal collisions in March, which gives him hope their initiative is working.
They’ll also target aggressive drivers, including people speeding, throughout this month as a part of their April goals.
