More than 250 offences detected during seat belt campaign

Officers from Northamptonshire Police are once again reminding drivers and their passengers to always belt up after more than 250 seat belt offences were detected during a three week campaign.

Between June 22 and July 12, officers from across the Force took part in a national enforcement campaign, aimed at reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on the UK’s road.

Not wearing a seat belt is one of the main contributors, and is one of the fatal four driving offences. The first week of the campaign focused on educating both drivers and passengers on the dangers of not wearing a seat belt.

This was followed by two weeks of enforcement, and officers from the Safer Roads Team were joined by colleagues from across the Force, to target those continuing to flout the law by failing to belt up.

Anyone caught not wearing a seat belt will receive an offer of an online education course if eligible, or received a fixed penalty fine of £100. If they elected to go to court, the maximum fine is £500.

During this period, a total of 105 vehicles were stopped by officers from the Safer Roads Team and Special Constabulary, North and West Local Policing Areas, Roads Crime Team and Serious Collision Investigation Unit.

A further 172 motorists will receive a postal notice of intended prosecution after being caught not wearing a seat belt by one of the Safer Roads Team enforcement vans.

PC Dave Lee of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team, said: “The difference between life and death in a road traffic collision can often be down to whether you are wearing a seat belt.

“We continue to see the consequences of driving without a seat belt on our roads, so it is extremely disappointing to still find so many people choosing to put their lives at risk by not wearing one.

“Seat belts are designed to work in conjunction with other car safety features including airbags, it’s therefore vital to wear it correctly as intended to reduce your risk of being killed or seriously injured in a collision.

“Although this campaign has now finished, we will continue to proactively police the county’s roads to educate drivers and passengers on road safety and enforce seat belt legislation.”

Reducing the number of people who are killed or seriously injured on the county’s road is one of the Force’s policing priorities. Last year in Northamptonshire, 42 people were killed, and a further 347 were seriously injured.