TORONTO - Ontario's seatbelt law celebrates its 35th birthday on January 1st.
Government officials say nearly 93 per cent of all Ontarians now buckle up.
That's up from just over 17 per cent who wore seatbelts before the mandatory law took effect.
Ontario was the first province to require all drivers and passengers to wear a seatbelt.
Since coming into effect, fines for violations have been increased and mandatory use of appropriate booster and child car seats have been added.
Since 1976, the number of people killed and injured in motor vehicle collisions has steadily dropped and it is estimated that seatbelt use has saved more than eight-thousand lives.
