Seatbelt operation nets more than 2500 at halfway point

Date published: 18 February 2010

Greater Manchester Police Traffic Officers have caught 2665 drivers and passengers not wearing their seat belts, just halfway into a national month-long campaign regarding the use of seatbelts by UK motorists.

Throughout February, officers have been stepping up checks on drivers and passengers who are travelling without their seat belts, putting them and those with them at risk.

Those who are caught not wearing a seat belt are issued with a fixed penalty notice and fined £60.

Chief Inspector Alec McMurchy said: “The Think! National campaign is trying to change people’s attitude towards wearing a seat belt and we are supporting this by stopping and fining those who flout this law.

“I am shocked at the amount of people we have caught not wearing a seat belt since this campaign began. Wearing seat belts saves lives, choosing not to makes absolutely no sense at all “

Even though it became compulsory to wear seatbelts in all motor vehicles since 1983, there is still an alarming number of deaths in the UK from not wearing seatbelts that could have been avoided, and the government has used numerous hard-hitting advertising campaigns over the last few decades to highlight the importance of wearing seatbelts in motor vehicles.

As part of the Think! campaign, the most recent Department for Transport campaign features a TV advert displaying graphic images of the damage that can be caused to internal organs when someone not wearing a seat belt is involved in a serious collision.