Northamptonshire Police is #StandingUpForBeltingUp in support of new national campaign

Belt up - that is the simple message to motorists who continue to fail to wear a seat belt when using the UK’s road network. One click could change your future.

Officers from across Northamptonshire Police will be #StandingUpForBeltingUp as part of a three-week UK policing campaign, which started yesterday (Monday, May 24) and runs until Monday, June 13.

As part of the National Policing Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) seat belt annual operation, officers will be out in force looking for anyone who isn’t belted up on our county’s roads.

This campaign aims to reduce 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.

In the last six years, the proportion of car occupants killed who were not wearing a seat belt has remained consistently above 20 per cent, with those aged 16-25 the most highly represented age group.

Research has also shown that 25.8 per cent of all males who died were not wearing a seat belt compared to 14.8 per cent of females. While more unbelted fatalities or serious injuries happened between 7pm and 7am.

PC Dave Lee of Northamptonshire Police’s Safer Roads Team said: “Wearing a seat belt in a car is such a basic piece of road safety advice and could be the difference between life and death in a road collision.

“Last year we held a similar operation and more than 250 seat belt offences were detected over a three-week period. It amazes me that some people still fail to belt up or wear their seat belts incorrectly.

“Having attended a number of fatal road traffic collisions where people have been ejected from the car, the consequences of not wearing a seat belt just aren’t worth contemplating.

“By not wearing one, you’re 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle and twice as likely to die from injuries as a result of a collision. So please take responsibility for your personal safety on the roads and belt up!”

The first week will focus on educating car occupants on the dangers of not wearing a seat belt as well as passenger safety, and in particularly, the use of child seats and transporting those under the age of 14.

This will be followed by a further two weeks of enforcement. Anyone caught not wearing a seat belt can take an online education course or receive a fixed penalty fine of £100. If they elect to go to court, the fine increases to a maximum £500.

Drivers who are stopped for carrying too many passengers for their vehicle will receive an automatic three points on their driving licence and a fixed penalty fine of £100.