Seatbelt fine

Sleepysophie

My son has just been issued with a seatbelt fine by police who stopped him and his sister in Manchester. He was in the back seat. He was wearing a seatbelt and showed this to the policeman however he had the shoulder bit under his arm rather than over his shoulder. He wants to appeal it because he WAS wearing a seatbelt but he was advised by the policeman that it is considered in court that wearing a seatbelt incorrectly is the same as not wearing one at all. The police confirmed it was all on bodycam so it would be visible that he was wearing one. I really think a warning would have been more appropriate? They checked my daughter's license and checked in and around the car, but the car is well maintained so there was nothing on it and its fully MOTd and insured. Does anyone have any knowledge about whether an appeal would be successful?   thanks 

Brie

Interesting!  I wonder what they might say to me as I often hold the shoulder bit down lower than the mechanics would have it.  If I don't I get the shoulder strap straight across my throat which, as well as making it difficult to breathe, could be fatal if I was in an accident.   

Brie

Having had a look online I can't see that there's anything mentioned in the law about how you wear a belt as long as you wear one.  But there's mention of wearing an appropriate belt.

But there is this in RAC's website for women wearing seatbelts.....

The safest and most comfortable way of wearing a seat belt if you’re pregnant is:

• Position the lap belt (the bottom of the two) low on your hip bones and below your belly
• The shoulder belt should be positioned between your breasts and to the side of your belly
• The belt should be tight - if it’s too loose, it won’t hold you in place in a crash - and don’t be tempted to position the shoulder belt underneath your arm

So obviously this is a common thing to do and it's not recommended.

fyi - the RAC site also says that if it goes to court and he loses the fine goes from £100 to £500.

Sleepysophie

@Brie thank you for that. I did try to search online before posting this but I couldn't find anything similar. I honestly think they thought he wasn't wearing one at all when he was pulled over and then when they saw he was, they felt they had to issue something (hence checking the car, license, insurance MoT etc.) and then having to settle with the seatbelt fine. I am sure a warning would have been sufficient. Just seems a bit excessive. 

YankeeBrit

Your best bet to get an answer is to go to the Pepipoo forums where they specialise in this kind of penalty. We only tend to deal with parking charges from unregulate private parking companies.

http://forums.pepipoo.com/

WYSPECIAL

So the fixed penalty is for failing to wear a seat belt but the Police acknowledge that he was wearing one?
Seems odd that he wasn't offered an online course.
If he wants to go to magistrates court the cost of a day off work etc needs to be taken into consideration in deciding whether or not it is worth it.
How old is he?

LightFlare

ftla.uk Is the “new” pepipoo

Sleepysophie

@WYSPECIAL he is 19 - he's a student. 

WYSPECIAL

Sleepysophie said:

@WYSPECIAL he is 19 - he's a student. 

Was just wondering if it was him or the driver that should have got the fixed penalty.

Also it won't be a fine so there is no appeal process. It will be a fixed penalty that he can choose to pay or have the matter heard by a magistrates court.

Umkomaas

LightFlare said:

ftla.uk Is the “new” pepipoo

PePiPoo is up and running, and most expert regulars tend to hang out there than on the hastily erected ftla site when there was a PePiPoo crash a few weeks ago. 

daveyjp

A modern three point belt is designed to restrain both upper and lower body.

By avoiding restraining the upper body the belt isn't being worn correctly, hence the penalty.  

Sometimes a word will be enough, sometimes a penalty is given,  Whether someone passes the "attitude test" can be the deciding factor.  The reasons why the car was stopped will also influence the decision.

Every traffic officer will at some point in their careers have to do the knock on a door to tell a parent their 19 year old has been involved in a serious accident and not wearing a seatbelt correctly or at all is a contributory factor in the injuries received.

He can go to Magistrates but unless he has a reason for not wesring it correctly he will be arguing the way he was wearing it was in line with the law.  For that he may need an expensive lawyer.