Government considers introducing penalty points for drivers not using seatbelts

The government is considering introducing penalty points as a deterrent to stop drivers not wearing a seatbelt while behind the wheel.

According to the Department for Transport, in 2021, in 30 per cent of all car occupant fatalities recorded, a seatbelt was not being worn.

In a parliamentary question tabled last week, Barry Sheerman MP asked of the ‘potential merits’ of introducing penalty points for those that don’t wear a seatbelt in a vehicle.

In response, Katharine Fletcher MP and the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said the fatality rate for not wearing a seatbelt was “unacceptably high”, adding: “We have been considering options to tackle this including the potential merits of introducing penalty points. This might form part of the Department for Transport’s planned call for evidence on motoring offences.”

Drivers can be fined up to £500 for not wearing a seatbelt behind the wheel, and likewise if a child under 14 is not wearing one or is in an incorrect car seat. However, no penalty points can currently be added to a driver’s licence, unlike other driving-related offences such as using a mobile phone at the wheel which incurs a £200 fine and six penalty points.

Motoring organisations have welcomed the proposal, but have said it needs to be ‘accompanied by better enforcement’.

Simon Williams, road safety spokesman at the RAC, said: “These stark figures underline just how important it is to buckle up in both the front and the rear of the car. Putting points on the licences of offenders would be a welcome move, but this must be accompanied by better enforcement.

“While up until this point offenders had to be caught not wearing a seatbelt by a police officer, there is now camera technology on trial in the UK that can make the process far simpler and more effective. If this technology were to be rolled out alongside introducing points on licences, lives would undoubtedly be saved.”