Police officers in Wales begin campaign for seatbelt safety

The South Wales Fire and Rescue Service are urging drivers to wear seatbelts as part of a new campaign to improve road safety.

The All Wales Seatbelt Campaign is being run by police forces in the country between the 10th and 23rd March. The campaign sets out to educate drivers about the dangers of not wearing seatbelts as well as enforcing the law of wearing a seatbelt and officers will be visiting local schools to inform them about the importance of belting up.

Vaughan Jenkins, Head of Road Safety for SWFRS said “At the end of the day it takes a couple of seconds to put a seatbelt on and those couple of seconds can ultimately save your life or stop you or a loved one being killed or seriously injured.”

Not wearing a seatbelt is one of five fatal offences that cause the most deaths on our roads and those who don’t obey the law can face a maximum £500 fine.

During the campaign, officers will be using roadside operations to target motorists who are breaking the law.

Further reading: Services launch 'a new era in road safety'

Gwent’s Roads Policing Chief Inspector, Paul Evans added, “Putting on a seatbelt should be second nature when getting into a vehicle, whether you are a driver or passenger. By not taking this simple step which takes seconds, you not only put your own life at risk, but also the lives of the other people in your vehicle."

Paralympic gold medalist, Josie Pearson was left paralysed after being involved in a collision that occurred in Goytre, Abergavenny, she wasn’t wearing a seatbelt.

Josie said: “Peer pressure is hugely influential, and people may think it’s cool to be like their friends and not wear a seatbelt, but it’s definitely not! Be a leader, be the sensible one, set a good example and put your belt on, it could save your life.”