"Put your seat belt on, insure your life "

Yesterday, Wellington Road Policing group ran an operation in the Wairarapa targeting the wearing of seatbelts.

In an hour and half on High Street Solway, 18 drivers were stopped for failing to wear their seat belt.

Senior Sergeant Simon de Wit says it is very disappointing to find a large number of people in the Wairarapa who are choosing not to wear their seatbelts.

We know seatbelts save lives.

“Almost a third of people who die on our roads are unrestrained vehicle occupants, these deaths are preventable.

So our staff make no apologies for focusing on ensuring people are wearing seatbelts.

“Seatbelt wearing is one of the four main behaviours we know contributes to death and injury on our roads, along with driving impaired (by alcohol, drugs, or fatigue), driving distracted, and going too fast for the conditions.

“Being properly restrained reduces your chance of death or serious injury in a crash by 60 percent in the front seat and 44 percent in the back seat.

“In a crash, you don’t have time to hit pause and put your belt on.

So please, drive safely and make sure everybody in the car is wearing a seatbelt.

It may save your life if somebody else makes a mistake on the road, or if you do.”

If you are stopped by Police for not wearing a seatbelt it is a $150 infringement.

ENDS

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