Seat Belts

Seat belts and child seats are an important part of keeping you and your loved ones safe if the worst happens on the roads.

It doesn't matter how far the journey is... just belt up!

The facts

• In a crash you are twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seat belt.
• Drivers and passengers aged 17-34 have the lowest seat belt-wearing rates, combined with the highest accident rate.
• People are less likely to use seat belts on short or familiar journeys – putting them at serious risk of injury in a crash.

The law

• If you are a driver or a passenger and fail to wear a seat belt in the front or the back of vehicles, you are breaking the law.
• If you are caught without a seat belt, you will face on-the-spot fines of £100. If you are prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500.

Child car seats 

The safest way for children to travel in cars is in a child seat that is suitable for their weight and size. Even in a minor crash, an unrestrained child would be thrown about inside the vehicle, injuring themselves and others. They could be thrown from the car through one of the windows.

For more information on fitting child car seats, visit: www.rospa.com/road-safety/resources/films/child-car-seats/

Dogs

The Highway Code says that drivers must ‘make sure dogs and other animals are suitably restrained’ in your car. If you don’t follow the Highway Code, you could be considered to be driving without due care and attention. If you’re in an accident because you were distracted by your pet, this could be counted as dangerous driving. 

Benefits of keeping pets secured include: 

• preventing serious injuries to your pet if you’re in a car accident. 
• preventing serious injuries to passengers and the driver - at just 30mph an unrestrained dog weighing 20kg, would be hurled forward with a force equivalent to the weight of a small moose! 
• •reducing the changes of an accident caused by a dog distracting the driver or getting the way.
• •Making sure your insurance is valid - a lot of car insurance policies require you to restrain your pets properly.