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The government would consider introducing penalty points for those caught not wearing their seat belts in a car after it emerged that nearly a third of people killed in vehicles last year were not fastened.
The latest figures on road casualties show that in cases where a vehicle occupant was killed in accidents in 2021, 30 percent had not worn their seat belts.
Currently, a driver or passengers who fail to wear one properly could be hit with an on-the-spot fixed fine of £100. However, MPs said they are now considering the “possible benefits of introducing demerit points” for these types of offences.
Government is considering tougher penalties for those who don’t fasten
Katherine Fletcher, Conservative MP for South Ribble and former Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for the Department of Transport, responded to a question in the House of Commons on Oct. 27 about increasing penalties for those who fail to cling to the alarming road victim report a month ago. earlier.
“The Ministry of Transport knows that by 2021, 30 percent of all recorded fatalities of car occupants were not wearing seat belts,” she said.
“This is unacceptably high and we have considered options to address this, including the potential benefits of introducing penalty points.”
Ms Fletcher stepped down from her DfT role the same day as part of a reshuffle of deputy ministers.
She went on to say that changing the rules to allow drivers and passengers to receive points “may be part of the Department for Transports’ planned call for evidence of traffic violations.”
The plans come more than 40 years after seat belts first became a legal requirement on UK roads.
Under current rules, both drivers and passengers over 14 who are caught by the police and not wearing seat belts must be fined £100.
However, this fine is mitigated if an violator takes an awareness course of £53 instead.
Motorists carrying children under the age of 14 are also held responsible for them, which can lead to an additional fine for each minor passenger without a seat belt.
However, not wearing a seat belt is not an acceptable offense at the moment, so you will not incur any penalty points on your driver’s license.
With increasing pressure on ministers to reduce the number of deaths on UK roads, a change to these rules could find much support.
Increase in road deaths: There were 5.2 deaths per billion vehicle kilometers in 2021, which is higher than the 4.9 deaths per billion miles in 2019 (as shown in the graph below right)
Under existing rules, both drivers and passengers over 14 who are caught by the police not wearing a seat belt will be fined £100 or required to take a £53 safety awareness course
The DfT released its estimated traffic accident report for 2021 in September showing 1,558 deaths last year and showed that the number of fatalities per billion kilometers driven last year exceeded pre-pandemic levels.
However, one of the most alarming factors in the report was a resurgence in the number of drivers and passengers who failed to take legal safety precautions in a moving vehicle, with not wearing a seat belt contributing to three in ten deaths in cars.
This is the highest percentage ever recorded for fatalities related to incorrect restraint and is four percentage points higher than the average over the past five years.
For deaths that occurred on the road at night, the proportion associated with not wearing a seat belt was even higher at a “terrible” 47 percent, additional analysis found.
RAC road safety spokesman Simon Williams said: “It is undeniable that seat belts save lives, but the sad reality is that in 30 per cent of fatal crashes a seat belt was not worn.
“These stark numbers underline how important it is to secure both the front and rear of the car.
It is undeniable that seat belts save lives, but the sad reality is that seat belts were not worn in 30% of fatal crashes
Simon Williams, RAC Road Safety Spokesperson
“It would be a welcome move to add points to offenders’ permits, but this needs to be accompanied by better enforcement.”
Increased enforcement could be achieved using the latest camera technology currently being tested by Warwickshire Police in conjunction with National Highway.
A specially modified van is being tested by officers to record passing vehicles using cameras mounted on a large metal structure projecting from the roof.
This allows surveillance technology to monitor road users from an elevated position to see what is happening inside vehicles, providing a viewpoint comparable to cameras installed on highway gantries and fixed roadside speed cameras.
Images taken by the Big Brother van are then analyzed by artificial intelligence and humans to determine whether motorists were using a portable phone or whether someone was not wearing a seat belt.
During its first 64 hours of operation, it identified examples of unsafe driving every six minutes, including 512 people without seat belts while traveling on the M40 and A46.
On the hunt: The ‘Big Brother’ van, which has been in use since July 11, is used to detect traffic violations such as holding a mobile phone on the wheel or not wearing a seat belt. In 64 hours of use, it has already caught more than 500 people not wearing seat belts
The RAC has previously supported the introduction of this technology and once again urged that it be used across the country to punish those who do not keep a leash.
“Whereas until now offenders had to be caught not wearing a seatbelt by a police officer, there is now camera technology in the UK that can make the process much easier and more effective,” added Mr Williams.
“If this technology were rolled out in addition to entering points on licenses, it would undoubtedly save lives.”
Traffic accident data from the DfT shows that most likely to die while not wearing seat belts are younger car occupants aged 17 to 29 at 40 percent.
Analysis by the AA also found that more men were killed in cars (34 percent) than women (20 percent) who were not wearing seat belts when the collision occurred.
Road policy chief Jack Cousens described it as a “terrible leap” in people who don’t properly secure themselves in vehicles.
Liberation from pandemic lockdowns may have fueled some of the rise, but the seat belt-less death rate rose even before Covid.
‘Maybe there should be a road safety campaign to increase the danger again. It is clear that the message is being forgotten.’
Increasing penalties for not wearing the belt properly would follow harsher penalties imposed in recent years on those caught on the phone behind the wheel.
In 2017, the government doubled the fines for drivers using a handheld device from three points and a £100 fine to six points and £200.
And earlier this year, it closed all legal loopholes related to “treating” a phone so that motorists can no longer touch a device while driving a vehicle.
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