Nearly 60 motorists or passengers were detected not wearing a seatbelt during a three-day state-wide police blitz.
Operation Belt Up was held between 12.01am on Saturday 1 August and 11.59pm on Monday 3 August.
Of the 58 drivers or passengers found committing a seatbelt offence during the operation, 37 received an expiation.
A seatbelt is worn correctly if the sash part of the seatbelt sits flat on the shoulder without touching the face or neck, the lap part of the seatbelt crosses low over the hips, not the abdomen, and if the seatbelt is not twisted.
A similar operation in May detected 113 seatbelt offences over the same period.
While the results of the most recent operation show better compliance, failing to wear a seatbelt remains a significant factor in deaths and trauma on our roads.
Investigations into road fatalities so far this year show that nine people who have lost their lives in crashes were not wearing a seatbelt. This represents 24 per cent of the year-to-date’s fatalities where the restraint status of the person is known.
Superintendent Bob Gray, Officer in Charge, Traffic Services Branch, said, “Wearing a seatbelt could ultimately be the determining factor between life and death in a crash.
“In the last five years 71 lives have been lost on our roads because people made a conscious decision not to wear a fitted seatbelt.”
