Manitobans to face higher seat-belt penalties
WINNIPEG, Man. — Manitoba is eyeing tougher penalties it hopes will encourage the few remaining non-seat-belt users to buckle up.
Both the Winnipeg police and the RCMP have requested authorization to penalize offenders by nailing them with one or more driver’s licence demerit points on top of a $100. Any driver with six or more demerit points must pay a premium to get their licence renewed in the province.
That can run anywhere from $200 to $999, depending on how many demerits they’ve piled up.
Transportation Minister Steve Ashton says the new initiative could be introduced in the spring legislative session. Ashton says he began looking at tougher sanctions to non-seat-belt use late last year when he noticed how many people were being killed in traffic accidents due to non-compliance.
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