The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Manitoba motorists who refuse to buckle up will be assessed driver's license demerit points beginning November 1, the Winnipeg media reported yesterday. The government's plan calls for one offence to equal two demerit points, and police may still issue $100 fines, according to reports. "I think this is just another tool to get people to comply with the law that's already there," Transportation Minister Scott Smith told The Winnipeg Sun. This is the Manitoba government's latest attempt to address a seatbelt use rate that one survey found is just 84 per cent, six percentage points below the national average. Representatives with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) have lamented the low seatbelt compliance rate, as have members of the Flin Flon RCMP. During a week-long check-stop program last May, police fined nearly 70 motorists for not wearing their seatbelts. "I would have to say that we were somewhat disappointed with the large number of people who were not wearing their seatbelts," Cpl. Mike Zens told The Reminder. "The numbers were greater than we wanted to see." The MPI Web site states that drivers with six demerit points pay an extra $200 a year on their driver's license registration fee. Drivers with 21 or more points pay the maximum of $999.
