Police in Northern Ireland have launched a new safety campaign aimed at reducing the number of people injured or killed in road traffic accidents where they have been travelling in the rear of vans. The campaign is aimed both at private motorists and also employers who allow their employees or any passengers to travel on improvised seats or without seatbelts in any vehicle.
Accompanying the campaign is a new leaflet highlighting the laws relating to carrying passengers that are not wearing proper seatbelts, as well as the penalties associated with this, and the danger to these passengers in the event of an accident. The leaflets will be given out to workers in the construction industry, which was identified as the industry most likely to have employees travelling in an unsafe manner in their employers’ vehicles. Van drivers across Northern Ireland will also be given the leaflets by police officers.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign, Acting Chief Inspector Rosie Leech explained:
“Most vans and goods vehicles are designed for the carriage of goods, not passengers, behind the driver. In a collision, unbelted passengers, particularly those being carried in a vehicle which has not been designed or built to accommodate passengers in the rear cargo space, can be thrown around with such force that in addition to killing themselves, they could kill or seriously injure a belted driver or front seat passenger.
Any van or goods vehicle driver detected carrying passengers or any employer permitting carriage of passengers in this way is now liable to receive a fixed penalty fine of £60 and have three penalty points added to their driving licence. If convicted in court, the fine can increase to a maximum of up to £5000 together with three penalty points.”
As well as the legal penalties for carrying passengers without seatbelts there are also implications for people making a road traffic accident compensation claim. If you are involved in a crash that was not your fault and you are found not to have been wearing a seatbelt the amount of compensation you receive could be reduced by as much as 25%. This depends on how much protection wearing a seatbelt would have offered you from the injuries you suffered.
If you have been injured in an accident either in a van or in any other vehicle and you feel the accident was not your fault, then call Camps Solicitors for expert legal advice on 0800 092 8586. As well as helping you to make a claim for personal injury compensation, we offer a complete accident management service to all our clients, so that everything from repairing your vehicle to sorting out replacement hire is taken care of.
Call 0800 092 8586
Speak to one of our claims advisors about your claim.
