This new vision takes advantage of the information we do have. It identifies the areas where we currently have the greatest problems, and where we will see the greatest results. And it formulates a strategic approach, with a series of sub-targets that accompany the national target. Now I'd like to take a few minutes to outline the nine specific sub-targets that make up Road Safety Vision 2010. Each focuses on an area where the largest numbers of serious casualties occur - and thus, by focusing our work, where we have the greatest potential for improvement.
Seat belts are a major safety issue.
Our goal is to have 95 per cent of all motor vehicle occupants wearing seat belts and using child restraints properly. In contrast, the 2001 program targeted only passenger vehicles. It is a sobering statistic that while nine out of ten Canadians wear their seat belts regularly, almost 40 per cent of people killed and 20 per cent of those seriously injured had not buckled up. We will work towards a 40 per cent decrease in the number of occupants who are fatally or seriously injured because they were not wearing seat belts. As I mentioned earlier, drinking and driving is another major issue of concern.