The Government has launched a new campaign aimed at reminding all drivers to wear seatbelts while driving or in the passenger seat.
The THINK! campaign comes after statistics found that every week, four young people aged 17 to 29 are either killed or seriously injured on roads when not wearing a seatbelt.
Young men were more likely to not wear a seatbelt, especially on short or well-known journeys, with 30 per cent of fatalities among 17 to 29-year-olds in 2022 due to not wearing a seatbelt.
To help combat this, alongside targeted advertising on roadside posters, radio and social media, CLICK will collaborate with several partners, including various football associations and local clubs to promote safe travel when going to matchdays.
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The campaign has been backed by £1.2million of funding
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Taxi and private hire vehicle companies, including Uber, are also supporting the campaign and looking to introduce direct reminders to passengers to wear their seatbelt when making journeys in cabs.
Roads Minister, Guy Opperman, said: “We know how important wearing a seatbelt is, reducing the risk of death for drivers in a collision by 50 per cent.
“This campaign is part of the Government’s plan to make our roads even safer and aims to make clicking in a seatbelt second nature to young men, who currently run the highest risk of death or serious injury – reminding them that a simple CLICK can save lives.”
The campaign has been backed by £1.2million of funding, and acts as a reminder that something as simple as clicking your seatbelt could be lifesaving.
RAC road safety spokesperson Rod Dennis explained that while to most people, it’s second nature to wear a seatbelt, every time someone forgets to click theirs into place, they’re putting themselves and other passengers at risk.
Young male drivers are much more likely to be seriously injured or killed than any other age group because they haven’t buckled up, Dennis warned.
He said he was in full support of the campaign urging all car occupants to wear their belts in transit, but especially young male audiences.
The campaign will also serve as a reminder of the importance of wearing a seatbelt when travelling on a minibus, bus or coach, while Rule 99 of the Highway Code also outlines the guidance for people and their seatbelts.
Drivers can be fined up to £500 if they fail to wear a seatbelt while in a vehicle. However, there are a few exceptions.
Motorists can get away with not wearing a seatbelt if they are reversing, or supervising a learner driver who is reversing.
They can also forego the seatbelt if they are in a vehicle being used for police, fire and rescue services or driving a goods vehicle on deliveries that are travelling no more than 50 metres between stops.
Licensed taxi drivers who are looking for customers either by being hailed in the street or by waiting at a taxi rank are allowed to not wear a seatbelt, while the same applies to a licensed taxi driver or a driver of a private hire vehicle who is carrying passengers.
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Drivers are being urged to always make sure passengers are wearing their seatbeltsPEXELSThe campaign will run across social, radio, digital audio and digital displays for six weeks from March to April 2024.
