About 150 drivers have been caught not wearing seat belts across Dorset during a week-long crackdown by motor patrol police.
According to the BBC, those caught were fined by officers for not buckling up during the operation which took place between 15 and 21 February 2010.
During that week one backseat passenger who was not wearing a seatbelt suffered serious injuries after going through a car windscreen, police said.
Dorset Police said a significant number of drivers continued to flout the law.
Chief Inspector Bob Nichols from Dorset Police said of the recent incident:
“Locally, a collision in north Dorset involved a rear-seat passenger who was not wearing a seat belt, allowed him to go through the windscreen causing serious injury. Fortunately, he missed the front seat passenger and driver who appear to have been belted in, and who sustained only minor injuries.”
The law requires that drivers and passengers aged 14 and over in cars, vans and other commercial vehicles must wear a seatbelt if available. According to government road safety website Think! In a crash someone not wearing a seat belt is more likely to die than someone not using one. In 2007 of the 1,432 car occupants killed, research indicates than some 34 per cent were not wearing a seat belt. While not wearing a seat belt can be a contributory factor to the severity of somebody’s injuries, if such a position is agreed by the court against the injured party then it is likely that this will only result in a minor deduction from their damages payment.
