Skip to main content

Pan-European seatbelt enforcement yields results

Europe’s cross-border police body TISPOL reports positive results from the recent pan-European seatbelt enforcement drive. The data shows that over 100,000 drivers and passengers were detected for not wearing seatbelts. A total of 24 countries took part in the operation, which was co-ordinated by TISPOL. Of the final total of 104,838 offences, 3,245 related to children not wearing seatbelts or other safety restraints. The remaining 101,593 offences related to adult vehicle occupants. Commenting on the resul
May 7, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
Europe’s cross-border police body 4753 TISPOL reports positive results from the recent pan-European seatbelt enforcement drive. The data shows that over 100,000 drivers and passengers were detected for not wearing seatbelts. A total of 24 countries took part in the operation, which was co-ordinated by TISPOL. Of the final total of 104,838 offences, 3,245 related to children not wearing seatbelts or other safety restraints. The remaining 101,593 offences related to adult vehicle occupants. Commenting on the results, TISPOL president Koen Ricour said, "The use of seatbelts is the single most effective method of reducing fatalities and serious injuries in motor vehicle collisions. That’s why our message is clear. Wearing a seatbelt is not a matter of choice. It is required by law in every European country because it could quite literally save your life in the event of an accident. Don’t take any chances. Use a seatbelt on every journey.”

Stopping drivers for seatbelt offences also provided police officers with the opportunity to make other appropriate safety and security checks. For example, during the week of this seatbelt operation, officers also detected and dealt with 53 offences connected with irregular immigration and human trafficking, 241 offences connected with the possession of drugs, 34 firearms offences, 46 offences relating to stolen goods and a total of 4,020 other crimes.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Europe’s single vehicle crashes
    February 7, 2018
    A third of road deaths in the EU are caused by collisions that involve a single motorised vehicle where the driver, rider and/or passengers are killed but no other road users are involved. Nearly 7300 road users lost their lives in 2015 in SVCs in the EU. Around 94,800 people have died in such collisions in the last 10 years. Across the EU, the total number of people killed in SVCs was cut by 43% over the period 2005-2014. Deaths caused by collisions of this type have fallen a bit faster than road dea
  • Improving road safety in Europe?
    July 24, 2012
    New plans by the European Commission are being proposed in a bid to reduce accident levels on the road. The changes are being made in a bid to reduce accident levels caused by defective vehicles. Under the new rules, all motorcycles and scooters would require technical inspections at regular intervals.
  • Improving safety for Europe’s roads revealed by latest data
    May 24, 2013
    A wide variety of road safety measures are being implemented across Europe, and with generally beneficial effects. According to the latest data from the European Commission, road fatalities across the EU dropped 9% for 2012 compared with the previous year. In fact 2012 also saw the lowest numbers of people being killed in road traffic crashes in EU countries since data first began being collated. But country by country statistics show that the number of road deaths still varies greatly across the EU.
  • European Day Without A Road Death: ‘Everyone’s vulnerable’
    September 25, 2019
    This year’s European Day Without A Road Death (Project EDWARD) takes place today, emphasising a theme of vulnerability. It is organised by the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL), which offers a somewhat pessimistic view of the state of play. “We have spent time reflecting on recent results which paint a very mixed picture of progress in reducing deaths and serious injuries on Europe’s roads,” TISPOL says in a statement. “For the first few years of this decade, countries across the EU have been highly