Proposal one of the measures in Road Safety Statement
Drivers who do not wear their seatbelt could face penalty points on their licence as well as the existing £100 on-the-spot fine if caught.
In 2017, 787 car occupants died in crashes. An estimated 27% of them were not buckled up. The proportion has been over 20% for several years.
The proposal came as the government published its Road Safety Statement.
Steve Gooding, director of motoring research charity the RAC Foundation, said:
“It is barely conceivable that tens of thousands of drivers and passengers make the decision each day not to belt up.
“The direct effect of non-compliance might be felt by the vehicle occupant themselves in the event of a crash, but ultimately the emergency services are left to deal with the roadside consequences and the taxpayer foots the bills.”
Great Britain has a relatively good road safety record with only Norway and Sweden in Europe having fewer deaths per million inhabitants.
In 2017, 1,793 people died on Britain’s roads. However that annual total has barely changed since 2010, though traffic over the same period traffic volume has risen by 8%.
Other measures suggested in the statement include:
- looking at whether graduated licensing for newly qualified young drivers would bring benefits as it has in other countries around the world
- seeing what can be done to make pedestrians distracted by their mobile phones safer
- considering whether alcolocks could be used to stop people convicted of drink-driving offending again
- what might be done to encourage motorcyclists to wear better protective equipment (the statement referred to work the RAC Foundation has previously done on this subject)
ENDS
Contacts:
Philip Gomm – Head of External Communications – RAC Foundation
020 7747 3445 | 07711 776448 | [email protected] | 020 7389 0601 (ISDN)
Notes to editors:
The RAC Foundation is a transport policy and research organisation that explores the economic, mobility, safety and environmental issues relating to roads and their users. The Foundation publishes independent and authoritative research with which it promotes informed debate and advocates policy in the interest of the responsible motorist.
The RAC Foundation is a registered charity, number 1002705.
All the Foundation’s work is available on its website:
www.racfoundation.org