Saskatchewan physicians are making sure the first babies born in the year 2000 at the Weyburn General Hospital and all hospitals around the province will have a safe ride home.

The Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) and Saskatchewan chapter of the Canadian College of Family Physicians (CCFP) are buying infant car seats for the first baby born in all of the province's hospitals.

According to statistics from Transport Canada, on average there are more than 650,000 vehicle collisions resulting in 170,000 injuries and 3,200 deaths every year. Using child restraints reduces the chance of death or injury by 75 per cent. Adult seat belts do the same by 55 per cent.

Providing approved car seats is a way to promote a lifelong commitment to vehicle safety, says Weyburn doctor Boyd Stewart.

"If you start them off as a child then they'll buckle up as adults, and they won't become one of those statistics," he said.

"Also if a child is buckled up, it will remind the parent to buckle up as well," he added.

Dr. Stewart says parents who think that simply holding their baby while riding in a car is safe are mistaken.

"If a baby is being held, that's not a proper restraint. Deceleration forces in a collision increase the weight of a child. It's virtually impossible for a person to hold on," he said.

The project to provide car seats is similar to campaigns that have proven successful in other provinces.