Seat Belt Fines Are Falling

Some great news about seat belts in West Yorkshire, the number of people issued fines for not buckling up whilst in a car has fallen by about one third which is a considerable amount. Despite the thousands still refusing to buckle up there is a decline in the overall amount of people caught without a seat belt in West Yorkshire. The annual amount of fines in 2011 issued for not wearing seat belts was 6,546 which is the figure for January to December, this figure fell to 4,100 fines issue for 2012 which is obviously a good thing no matter the opinion.

Despite this looking like a great thing on the surface the Police are blaming the lack of officers on the regions road for the decrease, rather than people buckling up they believe that it’s the fact more people are getting away with it due to the lack of staffing. The opposing view is obviously that it’s due to better road safety education and drivers being more aware of the consequences if they don’t buckle up their seat belts.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the seat belt legislation passing. Its estimated that due to the law being passed around 60,000 lives have been saved by people being forced to wear their seatbelt due to law.

Despite the difference in opinions of police forces and different bodies there is one thing that they both agree on and that’s the fact drivers should be aware of the consequences of not buckling up and the amount of seat belts fines should continue to decrease. Stated clearly by Kathleen Braidwood, the road safety officer at RoSPA, she said: “We must continue to make drivers and passengers aware of the importance of seat belt use. No matter how low the speed at which you are travelling or how short the journey, accidents still happen.” Which hits home the importance of using a seat belt.

Having worked in the car rental industry for over 15 years, he really knows his stuff. Rob heads up our marketing department and as a keen traveller, always has a new location to talk about. Particularly if there is a golf course nearby.