One of the UK’s leading experts in enforcement technology says plans to give penalty points to drivers caught not wearing a seat belt will help drive behaviour change and make roads safer, if they’re backed up with proper enforcement and driver awareness courses
Acusensus UK General Manager and Chair of ITS UK’s Enforcement Forum, Geoff Collins, is reacting to the Government’s Road Safety Strategy, which includes a change in punishment for the offence from just a fine to now include three penalty points as well.
“This is important because up until now you could habitually choose not to wear a seat belt and if you get caught, you pay the fine and have no further sanction,” he said. “But now, it will have an effect on your insurance cost and eventually lead to losing your licence, and that’s something that people will have to take notice of.”
Acusensus invented its “Heads-Up” technology which uses specially equipped cameras to see through the windscreen and into the vehicle, identifying cases where people are not wearing a seat belt or using a mobile phone as they drive past. Safer Roads Greater Manchester found just how serious the issue of seat belt non-compliance is, with the technology identifying 2,400 people not wearing a seat belt in just 51 days at one location last year.
Furthermore, research by PACTS, the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety, found that in 2023, one-in-four car occupants who died in collisions in Great Britain, where seat belt status was known, were not wearing one. Non-wearing is especially common at night (particularly between 10pm and 4am), on weekends, and among male drivers aged 35 to 44. Rear seat passengers also remain consistently less likely to wear a seat than those in the front.
“People seem to think that that those who break seat belt rules and are seriously injured or killed in a subsequent crash aren’t doing any harm, other than to themselves,” Mr Collins continued. “However, think of the emotional cost for all those having to deal with fatal and serious road injuries – from families, friends and colleagues to other road users involved and the emergency services who have had to deal with the aftermath. I’m baffled why people would put themselves at such risk, but they do, and we need to use every tool we have to save them from themselves.
“Not wearing a seat belt is a conscious choice,” he added. “It’s possible to go over the speed limit by a few miles an hour if you’re just keeping up with other traffic or you’ve temporarily lost concentration, but with a seat belt you have to actively choose not to put it on. The risk of penalty points, plus robust enforcement to spot non-compliance using technology such as ours, will definitely make a difference and save people from death or life-changing injuries in the event of a crash.”
The Government’s Road Safety Strategy also includes mandatory eyesight tests for older drivers, a reduced drink-drive limit and greater fines for uninsured drivers.
(Picture – Acusensus)
