MOTORISTS across Warwickshire are being told to belt up as part of a national road safety campaign.
Warwickshire Road Safety Partnership is asking drivers and their passengers to check everyone is wearing a seatbelt before travelling as part of a campaign running all this month.
While most people always wear a seatbelt, during a two week enforcement campaign in Warwickshire in 2022, 87 per cent of those not wearing a seatbelt were male and 88 per cent were over 25-years-old. This follows the national trend.
Inspector Jem Mountford said: “We are finding it difficult to understand why more men would choose not to wear a seatbelt because a seatbelt is one of the simplest and most effective things they can do to reduce the risk of injury in a collision to them and their passengers.
“During the campaign we will be using social media to draw on the well-known phrase ‘it doesn’t take a brain surgeon’ to demonstrate that wearing a seatbelt is simple and not requiring much effort. Most drivers and passengers are more than capable of the required action.
“Wearing a seat belt halves the chance of death in a crash – but only if you wear it.”
Drivers may get a fine of £500 if they or a child under 14 is not wearing a seatbelt or appropriate child restraint as required by law.
Any passenger over 14-years-old is responsible for always wearing a seatbelt if there is one available and could be fined for not wearing one.
But this may be about to change. In January, PACTS called for penalty points to be introduced to change the attitudes and behaviours of what they call the “forgetful or reckless minority” who fail to wear a seatbelt. This is currently being considered by the government.
Warwickshire Police is also working in partnership with National Highways to trial artificial intelligence to detect seatbelt offences.
In September and October last year, the National Highways Sensor Van checked a total of 122,241 vehicles on the M40 and A46 in Warwickshire as part of the trial, over a period of 64 hours.
This identified 512 vehicle occupants without a seatbelt and led to 152 mobile phone detections.
Follow the seat belt campaign via Facebook @WarwickshireRoadSafety or Twitter @WarksRoadSafety #StandingUpForBeltingUp
