Fortnight of Action: Police Cracking Down on Seatbelt Offenders

You wouldn’t go on a rollercoaster without a safety bar. You wouldn’t go on a building site without a hard hat. You wouldn’t leave your baby unbuckled in their pram.
Yet some people still choose not to wear a seatbelt.

It baffles us that something designed to save peoples’ lives – and that is mandatory by law – seems to be viewed as something optional, or even as an inconvenience.

Not wearing a seatbelt is one of the top causes of fatal collisions – known as the ‘fatal five’ – along with drink or drug-driving, speeding, using a mobile phone at the wheel and careless driving.

For this reason we’ll be taking part in a fortnight of action to clamp down on those who choose to drive without a seatbelt, or who let their passengers ride without one.

The fortnight, organised by the National Police Chiefs’ Council, will take place between June 12th (next Monday) and June 25th. This forms part and parcel of our daily business anyway, but during this fortnight of we will have dedicated resources out and about specifically looking for this offence and dealing with those who are breaking the law in this way.

Our officers will also be dealing with other road offences, including the other ‘fatal five’ offences.

Ch Insp Matt Willmot, of the Lancashire Roads Policing Unit, said: “This fortnight of action will target those who think they can break the law and put their own and others’ lives in danger.
“We know that people who are involved in a collision and aren’t wearing a seatbelt are significantly more likely to die or be seriously injured.
“Our message is simple: buckle up and do not put yours or others’ lives at risk.”