Cops out and about to promote seat belts

Starting Monday 30 July through Sunday 5 August, police officers will be out on the streets and highways to promote road safety.

This week’s awareness campaign will focus primarily on the use of seat belts and child seats, all of which were contributing factors in recent fatal accidents.

An official statement from the Police said special attention will be given to the use of seatbelts in the backseat of vehicles.

“During the awareness campaign, particular attention will also be given to the use of seatbelts in the backseat, where the rate of use is by far lower compared to the use in the front seats, while also focusing on the use of child safety seats,” the statement said.

The campaign aims at raising awareness among drivers and passengers, so that they develop the habit of always fastening their seatbelts as soon as they enter a vehicle.

Experts say these habits contribute to road safety and could save lives if used properly, while a bigger aim, according to the statement, is the reduction and prevention of serious and fatal injuries in road collisions.

Police say drivers will ultimately be held responsible for all passengers fastening their seatbelts inside the vehicle. When backseat passengers are spotted without a seatbelt, cops can issue fines to the driver.

In a rollover accident in late June, a father of two who was speeding and not wearing a seat belt was killed when his car’s side mirror struck an oncoming car on a Limassol main road.

Hours later on the same day, a similar accident took place on a Larnaca highway. A little girl in the back of a pickup truck, who did not have her seat belt fastened, was killed when another driver -who did not have a valid driver's permit- fell asleep at the wheel and struck her family’s car from behind.

Ten days later, two 11-year-old girls were killed instantly, with one of them crushed by the overturned vehicle, when a fatigued driver – the mother of one of the girls – lost control of her vehicle. The two girls who were in the backseat without their seat belts fastened.