"Help improve safety on our roads": Wiltshire Police backing seatbelt campaign
They're joining other forces from across the country
Wiltshire Police are taking part in a three week long crackdown on drivers not wearing seatbelts which is happening all over the country.
From today (Monday 24th May) until Sunday 13th June they will be supporting the National Police Chiefs' Council campaign.
Those that are involved in a collision and not wearing a seatbelt, the force they will hit the windscreen is approximately 30 to 60 times their own body weight.
The chance of death is also double.
Sgt Will Ayres of the Road Policing Unit at Wiltshire Police said:
"The simple act of wearing a seatbelt or making sure that children are secure with the correct restraint, could help avoid injury or even save a life. We are seeing drivers of all types of vehicles thinking that they can ignore the requirement or risking their lives due to having defective seatbelts.
Earlier this year the driver of a heavy goods vehicle approached a roundabout too quickly and over-turned when the heavy load being carried shifted. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown to the passenger side of the vehicle and trapped partly out of the cab. He was only freed when a heavy crane could be deployed to right his lorry. The driver is to be prosecuted for not wearing a seatbelt and for having an unsecured load. He was very fortunate his actions did not cost him his life.
I would ask all drivers to help improve safety on our roads in Wiltshire and Swindon by making sure that they and any passengers are correctly using a seatbelt. In a collision, an unrestrained back seat passenger can be thrown forward with enough force to kill the person in front."
JOINING FORCES
Hampshire Police are also joining the campaign by carrying out dedicated operations from May 31st.
From January 2010 to December 2020, 86 people died in Hampshire and Thames Valley after not wearing a seatbelt while involved in a collision - more than one death every two months.
Sgt Scott Kerr, Road Safety Sergeant for Hampshire and Thames Valley Police, said:
"Our message is clear: wear a seatbelt. It means you will be twice as likely to survive a serious collision as someone who doesn't.
We know the vast majority of people do wear their seatbelts, but sadly we still come across people who decide to risk their lives and others by travelling in a vehicle without wearing a seatbelt.
We do not want people to become complacent in the belief they'll never be in a collision - we see enough incidents on our roads to know this is not the case.
Even if you are just driving locally and at a low speed, that is no guarantee that you will not be involved in a collision.
And aside from the risk to your life, not wearing a seatbelt is a motoring offence. It is not worth the risk."
The Hampshire force have also released a short film warning people about the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt:
In the UK, if a seatbelt is fitted there is a legal requirement to wear it.
Failure to do so can result in a fine of up to £500.
Over the past year, road deaths in the UK have fallen by 14% due to the national restrictions implemented from the coronavirus pandemic and 1580 people had lost their lives to the year ending June 2020.