Nearly one in three people still don’t wear a seatbelt in the car according to local research. The startling statistic prompted road side Police checks with the Council’s Road Safety Unit to tell persistent offenders to Belt Up! Leader of Bromley Council, Councillor Stephen Carr saw some of the road safety issues being tackled firsthand when he attended a recent road safety awareness operation.
“Instead of getting a fine, Road Safety Officers speak to these drivers and explain exactly what will happen to them in a crash. In some cases, where it was deemed appropriate, photos were shown of the sort of injuries people receive. Most drivers and passengers were responsive to this message” said Councillor Stephen Carr, Leader of Bromley Council.
Angus Culverwell, Principal Road Safety Officer said, “There are still many people who take a risk by travelling in the car without wearing a seatbelt. Being stopped and fined by the Police is the least of their worries. A person travelling in a car is going at the same speed as the car, usually at over 30 miles an hour. If you have to brake suddenly, the car will stop and any unbelted person is going to continue forward at that speed until they hit something. The steering wheel, the dashboard, a tree or through the windscreen onto the road in front,” said at The London Borough of Bromley.
In the last three years, in Bromley, accident research indicates that nine in ten of the car occupants killed in crashes would have survived if seatbelts had been worn.
ENDS
- For media enquiries, please contact Andrew Rogers, Communications Advisor, on 020 8461-7670, or Caroline Townsend, Road Safety Officer on 020-8313-4498 or email Andrew.rogers@bromley.gov.uk