Children found not wearing seatbelts during North Yorkshire campaign
More than 60 drivers and passengers have been dealt with for not wearing a seatbelt during a week of action across North Yorkshire.
More than 60 drivers and passengers have been dealt with for not wearing a seatbelt during a week of action across North Yorkshire.
Three of the offences involved children who were not securely seated – incidents police have described as “deeply concerning”.
Patrols and vehicle checks were conducted in a number of communities, with drivers and passengers being stopped it they were not following the rules.
Officers also carried out education sessions with parents outside schools throughout the county.
They checked the type of child seats being used and ensured they were correctly fitted, giving advice to parents if they spotted any issues.
Sergeant Tim Wilson, who lead the week-long campaign for North Yorkshire Police, said:
“Wearing a seatbelt has been a legal requirement for decades.
“So it’s incredible that we’ve encountered around ten people a day who didn’t use one.
“Several of these cases involved children, which is deeply concerning and totally irresponsible.”
Sgt Wilson added:
“We enforce the law on seatbelt use every day of the year, but this week-long campaign lets us highlight the issue to people across the county and educate road users alongside the usual enforcement.
“It’s also been an excellent opportunity to work closely with parents and schools across the county, and the feedback we’ve had from them has been extremely positive.”
Research shows that drivers and passengers aged 17 to 34 are the least likely to wear a seatbelt, but most likely to have a crash.
Their chances of dying are two times higher than if they’d worn one.
During the campaign, a number of the vehicle stops for failure to wear a seatbelt led to more serious offences being detected, including a car stopped in Scarborough. The driver, who had not buckled up, was arrested on suspicion of taking the vehicle without the owner’s consent, drug driving and driving while disqualified.
Other stops showed vehicles to be untaxed, uninsured or unroadworthy.
Those who fail to wear a seatbelt are issued with a Traffic Offence Report. It carries a £100 fine which can rise to up to £500 if convicted by a court.