POLICE stopped 50 vehicles in Warwickshire for seatbelt offences during a three week campaign.
Five of the offenders were van drivers and all of the offences were committed by men aged over 25-years-old.
One child was also found not to be appropriately restrained in a vehicle.
While the aim of the campaign is to educate and raise awareness of the risks of not wearing a seatbelt to encourage the public to always ‘belt up’, there is also an enforcement element.
This provided the opportunity for officers to speak to drivers and 26 people received verbal advice at the roadside.
A further 24 people received Traffic Offence Reports that could result in £100 fine. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.
Over a year the statistics are even clearer. In Warwickshire in the 12 months between April 2019 and March this year one person died and 15 people were seriously injured where seatbelts were not worn.
Insp Jem Mountford of Warwickshire Police said: “The reason wearing a seatbelt is so important is because it reduces your risk of death or serious injury in a collision.
“We will continue to proactively police the county’s roads to educate drivers and passengers and to enforce seatbelt legislation.
“We are also asking the public to make sure their friends, family and colleagues always ‘belt up’. By doing this, you could save their life.”
Drivers and passengers who fail to wear seatbelts in the front and back of vehicles are breaking the law.
Drivers are responsible for ensuring anyone under the age of 14 wears a seatbelt or uses an appropriate child restraint as required by law. It is the responsibility of anyone aged over 14 it to wear a seatbelt.
Although the campaign has ended, officers are always on the lookout for people not wearing seatbelts. Between last April and March, Warwickshire Police issued 171 fixed penalty notices and driver retraining courses where either the front seat passenger or driver failed to wear a seat belt.
Click here for more information about the campaign
Click here for full details of the UK legal requirements for seat belts.
