DRIVERS travelling with young families over the bank holiday are being urged to check their kids are always wearing a seatbelt on every journey – or risk a £500 fine.
Youngsters can often be tempted to undo their own seat belts during journeys, so it is important for parents to make sure they haven’t unclicked.
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The warning comes after new figures reveal that 24% of car occupant fatalities were not wearing a seatbelt.
This is a huge percentage considering figures show that in the year ending June 2022, there were 29,804 reported killed and seriously injured casualties on British roads.
Seatbelts are incredibly important and offer a safety system that prevents and reduces injuries if there is a crash.
If a child undoes their seat belt or harness while the car is moving, the driver should pull over as soon as it is safe to do so.
Drivers have been warned that they are responsible for any child aged up to 14 and can be fined for each child passenger not wearing a seat belt.
If the case goes to court, motorists can be fined up to £500, reports road safety tech experts at Snooper.
Any driver or passenger over 14 caught not wearing a seatbelt can be given an on-the-spot penalty of £100.
Gary Digva, founder of Snooper, said: “It is essential that parents be extra cautious when driving with children because they are known to go through phases of clicking and releasing their seatbelts.
“Never start the car engine until children, and everyone, including the driver, is securely buckled in.
“Should a child undo the fastening, the driver should pull over as soon as it is safe and repeat how important seatbelts are to keep them safe.
