The plaintiff relies upon Galaske v. Stauffer et al., 1994 CanLII 128 (SCC), [1994] 1 S.C.R. 670 (S.C.C.), where the majority held that a driver owes a duty of care to a passenger to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm and that duty extends to ensuring passengers under 16 wear their seatbelts. The plaintiff suggests that the inebriated condition of the plaintiff placed her in the same position as a child under the age of 16 years. At page 686, Cory J. says this: The driver of a car is in a position of control...Coexistent with the right to drive and control a car is the responsibility of the driver to take reasonable steps to provide for the safety of passengers. Those reasonable steps must include not only the duty to drive carefully but also to see that seat belts are worn by young passengers who may not be responsible for ensuring their own safety.
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