TRANSPORT CANADA'S POLICY ON OCCUPANT RESTRAINTS

The basic principles underlying Transport Canada's policy on occupant restraints are stated and their implications discussed. The functions of the occupant restraint system are reviewed and the performance of these functions by three types of automatic restraint is then compared with that of the conventional 3-point seat belt system. Several respects in which the automatic restraints are expected to be less effective than the 3-point belt are identified. However, it is concluded that continued installation of automatic restraint systems meeting prescribed standards is justified pending the development of more effective means of regulating the performance of occupant restraint systems in general.