Belt up or risk a £100 fine - police launch seatbelt crackdown in Norfolk and Suffolk

Police will be carrying out checks from Monday to Sunday as part of a Europe-wide enforcement campaign - and people not wearing seatbelts will be hit with a £100 fine.

The aim is to raise awareness of how many crash-related injuries and fatalities can be prevented by the wearing of seatbelts, which is now compulsory in most European countries.

Officers from the joint Norfolk and Suffolk Roads Policing Unit will be conducting checks on motorists and their passengers throughout both counties. Those who are found not wearing seatbelts will be issued fixed penalty notices of £100.

Chief Inspector Chris Spinks, head of the roads policing unit, said: 'Nowadays the majority of vehicles have seatbelts fitted and the value of wearing them is obvious, but some people still leave their seatbelt unfastened or don't ensure that their children are secured in the back seat.

'We want to remind people that by not wearing your belt, or not ensuring others in the vehicle are, you are putting your own and others' lives at risk.

'This is one of the Fatal Four driving behaviours, along with speeding, drink-driving and using a mobile phone, that makes you more likely to be seriously injured or killed in a collision.

'Putting on your seatbelt should be part of your routine before starting any journey and it is absolutely necessary for those travelling in the front and rear seats to belt up and save lives.'

In Suffolk in 2013, four people who died in road crashes were not wearing a seatbelt, whilst in Norfolk last year five people lost their lives in crashes without their seatbelt on.

Police said 218 Fixed Penalty Notices were issued across Norfolk and Suffolk during the same week of enforcement last year.

It is illegal not to wear a seatbelt when travelling in a car or goods vehicle and it is the responsibility of the driver to ensure all passengers under the age of 14 are wearing a seatbelt or child restraint.