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Road safety police stop driver campaign
Eighty five drivers were stopped by the Police in Bromley last week in just three hours. The majority of offenders were stopped for not wearing seatbelts, but some drivers were stopped for not ensuring that their child passengers were restrained in a car seat. Other drivers stopped for using their mobile phone. The road side checks are part of ongoing campaign to improve road safety across the borough.
“We were surprised by the numbers of drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts. The main ‘excuse’ was because they weren’t going very far. It is often on short trips, at low speeds, in urban areas that drivers don't belt up. The risk is seen as minimal. But, most accidents happen in local areas that the driver is familiar with. We believe that education plays a large part in changing attitudes - so we spoke to the drivers about the real risk they were taking by not wearing a seatbelt” said Angus Culverwell, Principal Road Safety officer at the London Borough of Bromley.
A majority of drivers stopped in the road side checks were males in their thirties. During the Police stops;
- Two drivers were fined for using mobile phones whilst driving.
- One driver was fined for transporting a baby on a passenger’s lap and not in a car seat.
Using a mobile phone whilst driving now carries a fine of sixty pounds and three points on your licence. Children travelling in cars MUST be in a child car seat until they reach 135cms or their twelfth birthday.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
- 83 cars stopped for non-seatbelt wearing occupants. 66 male, 24 female.
- 73 were drivers and 17 were passengers.
For media enquiries, please contact Amy Bevins, Strategy Development Officer, on 020 8313 4738, or email amy.bevins@bromley.gov.uk