Drivers across Britain could land themselves penalty points for not wearing a seatbelt. Under current laws motorists across England, Wales and Scotland can be handed a £100 fine. However, there has been no word on how many penalty points handed out to drivers yet. Motorists in the UK can lose their driving licence for accruing 12 penalty points within three years.
The proposed introduction of this rule forms part of the Government’s Road Safety Action Plan which comprises of 74 actions to improve road safety.
In 2017, 27 per cent of car deaths involved people that were not wearing a seatbelt – meaning one in four car deaths could have been prevented by belting up.
Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said: “The UK has some of the safest roads in the world, but we are not complacent and continue to look at how we can make them safer.
“Today’s action plan is a key milestone in our road safety work and sets out the important steps we are taking to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads.
“The Department for Transport is also considering the report from the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) on seatbelt use.
“This report analyses which drivers and passengers are least likely to wear seatbelts, what prompts their behaviour and which interventions would be best to reduce the number of casualties.”
Road Safety Minister Michael Ellis said: “Far too many people are not wearing a seatbelt while traveling in a car, needlessly putting their lives at risk.
“Increasing penalties for people who disregard the simplest of way of protecting themselves is just one of a long list of actions this government is taking to help keep people safe on our roads.”
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