§ Lord Allen of Abbeydaleasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many front-seat passengers have been convicted for not wearing a seat belt.
The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)The information collected centrally does not separately distinguish passengers and drivers. However, in England and Wales, the total findings of guilt in 1986 and 1987 were 19,200 and 7,500 respectively. The available information on court proceedings for seat belt offences is published annually in Table 5 ofOffences relating to motor vehicles, England and Wales, Supplementary tables. Since 1st October 1986, the police have been able to issue fixed penalty notices for these offences as an alternative to prosecution. In 1987 about 70,000 such notices were issued. Table 13 of Home Office statistical bulletin issue 32/88 suggests that in 1987, there was a large rise in the enforcement of this legislation. Copies of the publications referred to are in the Library.