News

Almost thirty motorists were caught not wearing seatbelts by Police officers who ran a special operation in Folkestone yesterday (26 February).

However, they have not been issued with the usual £30 fixed penalty notice, because they agreed to watch a road safety film shown by Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

A total of 90 vehicles were stopped by police in the operation designed to target motorists not wearing seatbelts and educate them about the dangers.

Of the 90 vehicles stopped:

5 will be required to produce their driving documents within the next 7 days
2 had excess tint in their tinted windows and will need to be corrected
1 had no insurance
1 driver was cautioned for possessing cannabis
1 driver was issued with a prohibition notice which means he can't drive the car until he had corrected all its dangerous defects including a bald tyre.

All those stopped were given a leaflet entitled: 'Don't become another statistic' that has been designed by South Kent's Roads Policing Officer, PC Ian Clark and funded by the Shepway Community Safety Unit.

It is estimated around 460 lives nationally are lost every year by not wearing seatbelts, and 35% of drivers injured in collisions are aged between 16 and 25.

The operation is part of on-going work to reduce the number of casualties on South Kent roads, which is around 1420 a year.

PC Ian Clark said: "There has been a positive response from many of the drivers who took the option of viewing the safety film, saying it has given them a wake up call."

"We are not out to pick on motorists, but educating them in this way can have a positive impact and make them think the next time they get into their vehicles."