NPCC Seatbelt campaign activity

Last month officers were out in the county stopping drivers who were not wearing a seatbelt and taking the opportunity to carry out speed checks as part of the under the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Seatbelt Campaign.

Officers were stationed on roads in Bedford, as well as villages such as Willington, Great Barford, Sharnbrook, Stewartby and Wixams, stopped and educated four drivers for not wearing a seatbelt, two were issued with a Traffic Offence Report. Seven drivers were also stopped for speeding.

One of the key areas that the officers targeted was between the BP garage on the A6 to the Wixams roundabout, where they were stationed from 2pm to midnight to monitor any anti-social behaviour from drivers.

Inspector Richard Cunningham from Bedfordshire Police said: “Firstly we would like to say thank you to the members of the public for reporting issues to us. Without your vital intelligence we often don’t know about some of the issues that affect the community.

“We were able to prioritise resources to disrupt anti-social behaviour around the Wixams area. During the time we were stationed, no vehicles were seen speeding and the drivers were all wearing seatbelts.

“During these days of action, officers were more visibility present across the county on key roads and as a result saw a reduction in speeders. We also noted that almost all drivers were wearing seatbelts, which is great to see as they are a vital safety feature that will save lives if the vehicle was involved in an accident.

“We would love to say that we have enough resources to continuously crack down on people driving without a seatbelt. This is something that officers keep an eye out for when they are patrolling the county, but they are often attending different crimes or helping people in emergencies.”

If you would like to report anything to us, please use our online reporting tool. If you see an emergency situation where you believe someone’s life is in danger, please call 999.