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Loughborough Drivers Should Buckle Up

Posted on 21/02/2008
R. Reed

A total of 29 motorists have been fined for not wearing their seatbelts in Leicester in just two and a half hours.

A further five £30 fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers using their mobile phones at the wheel.

The checks, by officers from Leicestershire Constabularys Road Policing Unit, are being carried out as part of a week-long European seatbelt enforcement campaign which started on Monday 18th February 2008 and continues until Sunday.

Officers carried out checks on Narborough Road in Leicester yesterday morning (Wednesday February 20). In just one hour officers stopped and fined ten drivers or passengers for not wearing their seatbelts.

In the afternoon further checks were carried out on the A47 Hinckley Road in Leicester. Between 3pm and 4.30pm a total of 32 vehicles were stopped by officers. Nineteen £30 fixed penalty notices were issued to drivers or their passengers for not wearing a seat belt and five fines were issued to motorists using their mobile phones whilst driving. Two motorists were reported for driving with no insurance and three vehicle defect rectification notices were issued, two for indistinct number plates and one for a defective exhaust.

On the same day checks were also carried out on the A1 in Rutland, but no motorists there were spotted breaking the law.

Sergeant Wayne Riley from the Road Policing Unit said: "It is very disappointing to see so many drivers and passengers ignoring the law and putting their lives at risk by failing to wear their seat belts.

"We hope this campaign will serve as a reminder to motorists and passengers of the need to wear seatbelts and the costly consequences of not doing so - whether that be a £30 fine or serious injury or worse if they are ever involved in a collision.

"The Road Policing Unit will be carrying out further checks throughout the county this week."

The seatbelt enforcement campaign is being coordinated by TISPOL, the European Traffic Police Network. It aims to reduce road deaths and casualties on European roads by bringing together the roads and traffic police forces in Europe to work together and exchange best practice. Seatbelts can reduce the chance of the occupants of a vehicle being seriously injured by up to 50% for adults. The benefits of children wearing seat belts is even more astounding with a reduction in risk of 90% for rear facing seats and almost 60% for forward facing seats.

Officers will be concentrating their efforts on motorists and their passengers who are not wearing seatbelts and issuing £30 fixed penalty notices. They will also be checking that any child passengers are correctly restrained using the appropriate child car seat for their weight and height, in accordance with the legislation introduced in September 2006.

It is unclear if motorists in Loughborough are going to be subjected to random checks in the Loughborough, Shepshed or Charnwood areas. Regardless it would make sense to ensure that everyone is buckled up before starting the engine and heading out onto the roads around Loughborough or anywhere else for that matter.