Seat belt message must be promoted more strongly

5.00.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Thu 3rd Aug 2006

Alliance North Down Councillor, Ian James Parsley

Young Alliance Chair Cllr Ian James Parsley has said the seat-belt message must be promoted more strongly by the police and by schools after 86 people were caught for "seat-belt offences" in one weekend alone during Operation Roadsafe.

The North Down Councillor stated: "The proactive stance adopted by the police on road safety is, in principle, to be welcomed. While speeding figures always hit the headlines, the real story is that it is has indicated is a significant number of people, apparently from all walks of life, failing to wear a seat belt.

"The message must be rammed home that a seat belt is often the difference between a minor casualty and a fatality. This applies to people of any age in any seat in the vehicle travelling over any distance.

"The term 'road carnage' is beginning to be vastly overused, but it remains the fact that a whole lot of lives are being needlessly cut short on our roads. In many cases, the failure to strap up is literally the difference between life and death. That message must be repeated over and over again."

ENDS