United Kingdom

Government considers penalty points for not wearing seatbelts

Government to fine people found not wearing seatbelts in cars after revealing nearly a third of people killed in vehicles last year were not wearing seatbelts It is said that they are considering

The latest road casualty figures show that 30% of car occupants who died in an accident in 2021 were not wearing seatbelts, a record high.

Any driver or passenger found not to be wearing it correctly may now face a fixed penalty notice of £100 on the spot. However, lawmakers said they were currently considering “the potential merits of introducing penalty points” for this type of crime.

Government considers tougher penalties for people not wearing seatbelts: Official figures reveal a startling rise in road deaths linked to people not wearing seatbelts last year MPs later said they were looking at “the potential merits of introducing penalty points”

Katherine Fletcher, a South Ribble Conservative MP and former Under Secretary of State for Transport, answered a question in the House of Commons on 27 October. Casualty reports from a month ago.

“The Department of Transportation knows that 30 percent of all recorded vehicle occupant fatalities in 2021 were not seat belted,” she said.

“This is unacceptably high and we have been considering options to tackle this, including the potential benefits of introducing penalty points.”

Fletcher stepped down from his DfT role the same day as part of a reorganization of junior ministers.

She went on to say that changing the rules to allow drivers and passengers to earn points “could form part of the Department of Transportation’s planned evidence request for motor vehicle crimes.” rice field.

The plan comes more than 40 years after seat belts were legally required on British roads.

Under current regulations, drivers and passengers over the age of 14 will be fined £100 if police find them not wearing seatbelts.

However, this fine is waived if the offender takes a £53 awareness course instead.

Drivers carrying children under the age of 14 are also considered responsible and may be subject to additional fines for each unbelted child passenger.

However, not wearing a seatbelt is currently not an admissible violation, so no penalty points are awarded to the license.

With ministers under pressure to cut fatalities on UK roads, these rule changes could get a lot of support.

Rise in road deaths: 5.2 fatalities per billion miles in 2021, surpassing the 4.9 fatalities per billion miles recorded in 2019 (see graph below right).

Rise in road deaths: 5.2 fatalities per billion miles in 2021, surpassing the 4.9 fatalities per billion miles recorded in 2019 (see graph below right).

Under existing regulations, drivers and passengers over the age of 14 who are caught by police not wearing a seatbelt will be issued a fixed fine notice of £100 or face a safety awareness course of £53. must participate in

Under existing regulations, drivers and passengers over the age of 14 who are caught by police not wearing a seatbelt will be issued a fixed fine notice of £100 or face a safety awareness course of £53. must participate in

of DfT Releases Estimated Road Traffic Casualties Report for 2021 September showed 1,558 deaths last year, higher than last year’s pre-pandemic levels for deaths per billion miles driven.

However, one of the most worrying factors in the report is the return of drivers and passengers failing to comply with legal safety precautions in moving vehicles, not wearing seatbelts. are responsible for 3 in 10 deaths in vehicles.

This is the highest percentage of road deaths related to inadequate restraints on record and 4 percentage points higher than the average over the past five years.

Among deaths on the road at night, the proportion associated with not wearing a seatbelt was even higher at 47%, which was “horrible”, highlighting additional analysis.

Simon Williams, RAC road safety spokesman, said: “While seat belts are undeniably life-saving, the sad reality is that 30% of fatal crashes were without seat belts. That’s it.

“These tough numbers highlight how important it is to tighten both the front and rear of the car.

It is undeniable that seat belts save lives, but the sad reality is that in 30% of fatal crashes, seat belts were not worn.

Simon Williams, RAC Road Safety Spokesperson

“Scoring criminal licenses is a welcome move, but it needs to be accompanied by better enforcement.”

Enforcement can be enhanced using the latest camera technology currently being tested by Warwickshire Police in conjunction with the Highway.

a custom van has been attempted by officers to record passing vehicles using cameras mounted on large metal structures extending from the roof.

This allows surveillance technology to monitor road users from an elevated position to see what is happening inside their vehicles, providing a similar perspective to cameras installed in highway gantrys or fixed-speed roadside cameras. .

Footage captured in a Big Brother van will be analyzed by artificial intelligence and humans to determine if the driver was using a cell phone and if anyone was not wearing a seatbelt.

During the first 64 hours of operation, we identified an instance of dangerous driving once every 6 minutes, including 512 people not wearing seatbelts while traveling on the M40 and A46.

On track: The 'Big Brother' van, which has been in use since July 11, is being used to detect driving violations such as holding a cell phone in the steering wheel and not wearing a seatbelt. In 64 hours of use, more than 500 people are already seatbelt-free.

On track: The ‘Big Brother’ van, which has been in use since July 11, is being used to detect driving violations such as holding a cell phone in the steering wheel and not wearing a seatbelt. In 64 hours of use, more than 500 people are already seatbelt-free.

The RAC has previously endorsed the introduction of the technology and has reiterated its call for widespread use nationwide to punish those who do not tighten their belts.

“In the past, criminals who weren’t wearing seatbelts had to be caught by police officers, but camera technology now being trialled in the UK makes the process much easier and more effective,” Williams said. It’s possible,” he added.

“If this technology were deployed at the same time as introducing points into the license, it would definitely save lives.”

According to DfT traffic accident data, young motorists between the ages of 17 and 29 are most likely to die while not wearing their seatbelts, at 40%.

AA analysis found that more men (34%) died in vehicles than women (20%) who were not belted at the time of the crash.

The head of road policy, Jack Cousens, described it as a “terrifying jump” in which people fail to properly secure themselves in their vehicles.

“Elimination from pandemic lockdowns may have contributed to some of this surge, but death rates while not wearing seatbelts had surged even before Covid.

“A road safety campaign may be needed to re-enhance the danger. Clearly the message has been forgotten.

The tougher penalties for not properly belting will follow the harsher penalties imposed in recent years on those caught with the phone behind the wheel.

In 2017, the government doubled the penalties for drivers found operating handheld devices from 3 points and a fine of £100 to 6 points and £200.

When early this year This closed all the legal loopholes around cell phone “handling”, preventing the driver from touching the device while in control of the vehicle.

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