How To Wear A Seatbelt Properly

Sunday, 6. April 2014

You know when someone mentions something you see them everywhere. For example someone will say ‘Haven’t seen many magpies about for a while and you agree, only to be confronted by acres of the damned things like a scene out of the Hitchcock thriller, The Birds. A couple of weeks ago it was pancakes, couldn’t move for them and as for Easter eggs I won’t even go there (Morrisons buy one get one free).

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But on a serious note I was reading about seat belts and the wearing thereof. In this enlightened age and probably down to the fact that I, along with all my passengers just click up every trip without even giving it a second thought, I believed that the non wearing of seatbelts was a thing of the past.

I even have to belt up my weekly shopping when I put it on the back seat rather than put up with the warning light flashing on the dashboard and the warning ding that gets progressively louder till it drowns out the stereo. But after reading about seatbelts I saw a ridiculous number of drivers unbelted. I couldn’t believe it.

Not only do seatbelts save lives you can also face a very nasty fine and points on your licence. Last year the fixed penalty increased from £60 to £100 along with 3 points on your licence. But what many don’t understand is that the maximum fine for not wearing a seatbelt is actually £500, it is up to the officer who stops you whether to give you a fixed penalty or send you to court so please don’t endanger your life or those of your passengers, make sure to belt up every trip especially if you think you won’t have an accident when popping round the corner to the shops, that’s when most accidents happen.

I have had two cars written off within 100 yards of where I lived at the time. Neither of which was my fault by the way. Oh and finally a bit of good advice from a doctor, when you fasten the seatbelt make sure the belt does NOT sit on your stomach. The belt should fit below the stomach and across the hips.

Illustration of a three-point seatbelt. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Make sure you check this next time you get into the car, there are normally adjusters in the door pillar mountings for drivers and front seat passengers to position the lap belt in the right place. By Graham Hill