110 drivers found driving without a seatbelt in 1 day!

Our Casualty Reduction Section carried out Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) checks at two sites in Basildon yesterday
Officers from our Casualty Reduction Section and our Roads Policing Unit were at East Mayne and Great Oaks in Basildon yesterday with motorbikes and an ANPR van patrolling the local area as part of a series of operations across the county to help reduce motoring offences and detect criminals on the county’s roads.

110 drivers were dealt with for failing to wear a seatbelt whilst driving and total of 19 drivers were found to be driving whilst using their mobile phone. Each driver was issued with a fine and referred onto an awareness course.

Two drivers were arrested upon being stopped after checks revealed they were wanted by police forces across the country. A 23-year-old man from Billericay was wanted by Cheshire Police and was subsequently arrested and a 20-year-old man from Wolverhampton was wanted by Sussex Police.

Two drivers had their vehicles seized after being found driving without valid insurance and ten drivers were stopped because their vehicles did not hold a valid MOT. Three drivers were given Vehicle Defect Rectification Scheme Notices (VDRS) to repair defects on their cars within 14 days and two vehicles were stopped for having an illegal number plate.

One driver was dealt with for careless driving, two drivers failed to stop at a red traffic light and one driver was found to have contravened a No Entry area.

One driver was stopped for driving a car that was in a dangerous condition, another driver was stopped for driving his vehicle with defective tyres and one car was stopped for illegal tinted windows.

Two drivers of commercial vehicles were stopped and found to have exceeded their Drivers Hours.

Sgt Dave Rudd from our Casualty Reduction Section said: “This operation is run on a regular basis throughout the county and every week I am disappointed to see that a number of people are still failing to wear a seatbelt for reasons I cannot understand. “It is 50 years since the first law on wearing seatbelts was passed yet people are still putting their lives at risk by failing to buckle up. Seatbelts are there for your own safety and it is disappointing that people don’t think about the possible consequences of their actions.

“If you are involved in a road traffic collision, you are twice as likely to die if you do not wear a seatbelt. And just one person not wearing a seatbelt can be thrown around with enough force to kill or seriously injure other people within the car. “Please buckle up. Such a simple task could save your life.”