Belt up or be fined!

A number of seat belt checks will be conducted outside schools next week - as part of Dorset Police's ongoing commitment to road safety.

Between Monday, 28 September and Friday, 2 October 2009, officers from the Traffic Unit and members of local Safer Neighbourhood Teams will be undertaking checks on vehicles outside a number of schools around Dorset - to ensure that drivers and passengers are wearing their seat belts.

The fixed penalty for not wearing a seat belt increased from £30 to £60 earlier this year and, if convicted in court, the fine can be up to £500.

Chief Inspector Bob Nichols, from Specialist Operations, said: "Even if you are only on a short journey you must wear your seat belt in any moving vehicle - and that advice is the same whether you are driving the vehicle or are a passenger.

"We conducted a similar operation during Child Safety week in June this year and I am concerned that there are still drivers and passengers prepared to put their lives at risk - including, incredibly, some parents not ensuring that their children are strapped in."

Research by Government organisation Think! Road Safety shows that you are twice as likely to die in a collision if you don't wear a seat belt and of the 1,432 car occupants killed in the UK in 2007, research indicates that some 34 per cent were not wearing a seat belt.