There’s been a surge of seatbelt use on the Sturgeon Lake First Nation.
According to SGI, the amount of people using seatbelts on the reserve has risen by 82%.
Yesterday, the band was presented with a $50,000 cheque to be used for traffic improvements after winning a seatbelt challenge in northern Saskatchewan.
Sandra Kingfisher is a teacher on the reserve.
Kingfisher’s Grade 9 students helped enforce the seatbelt blitz earlier this year.
She says the benefits are already being felt:
“A couple of weeks ago, three young people rolled over — and each one of them had their seatbelts on, so nobody was seriously hurt. So that really inspired me to remind my students to always wear your seatbelt. It saves lives.”
Stanley Mission came in second place in the seatbelt challenge with a 79% increase in usage, while Pelican Narrows was third with a 71% increase.