News

2 February 2007
SCOTTISH POLICE CHIEFS LAUNCH SEATBELT / SPEEDING DAY

SCOTLAND’S drivers and their passengers are again urged today to slow down and belt up.

High visibility patrols will be out on the country’s roads on Tuesday 6 February 2007                 targeting people who either speed or choose not to wear a seatbelt. The continuing message               to motorists who either put their own lives or the lives of others at risk is “Don’t Risk It!”

All eight Scottish Police Forces are taking part in Tuesday’s ‘Speeding / Seatbelt Awareness Day’, organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS). It follows three previous focus days in 2006 aimed at highlighting seatbelt and speeding issues.

The police will be on the lookout for drivers exceeding the speed limit and people not wearing a seatbelt with a focus on rural roads.

Chief Constable John Vine, Chair of the ACPOS Road Policing Business Area, said:

‘‘Speeding and failing to wear a seatbelt are both inherently dangerous choices to make. In the event of a collision, they cost lives. No one can fail to be aware of the dangers associated with speeding, especially within built-up areas. The faster a vehicle is driven, the less time there is to react to any given situation and the force of any impact increases in the event of a collision.

‘‘Seatbelt legislation has been with us for some time now and we must all be aware of the require- ment to belt up. But there appears to be a lapse in being safety-minded between the front and the back seats and, most worryingly, this invariably puts children at greater risk. People should be in no doubt that they and their passengers must be restrained, no matter how short their journey.”

Buckling up is still one of the most effective and immediate ways to prevent death or serious injury following a collision.  As well as the obvious danger to themselves, unbelted rear seat passengers can kill or injure other car occupants. An unrestrained adult in the rear of a vehicle, in a 30-mph head on collision, can strike someone sitting in a front seat with the equivalent weight of a three and a half tonne truck.

‘‘If you are thrown from a car in the event of a collision, you are ten times more likely to be killed,” Mr. Vine continued.

‘‘Today is about raising awareness of these issues and leaving people in no doubt that the police are out there targeting this sort of behaviour day in day out.

''Our message is simple - you could be caught or killed - Don’t risk it. The consequences are not only points on your licence and a fine but could also lead to the death or serious injury of yourself or others and, by choosing not to wear a seatbelt, you are simply placing your trust in every other motorist on the road.

“Our message is simple - you could be caught or killed - Don’t risk it!” he concluded.

NOTES TO NEWS EDITORS:

For further information or to arrange an interview with CC John Vine, please contact
Graham MacDonell at ACPOS Communications on 0141 532 6302 or 0141 532 2062 or
07771 842 881 after hours.

Incidents of note will be distributed shortly after the day of action.