Encouraging seat belt figures announced by Dorset
Dorset County Council's road safety team has been keeping detailed records of seat belt wearing rates on the school run in the county since 1993 – and the figures make encouraging reading.

A survey carried out every autumn at a cross section of some 30 school sites reveals that in 2002 an average 82 per cent of children are belted in on the school run, compared with a figure of just 60 per cent in 1993. As the child seat belt wearing statistics are used as key performance indicators by the county, the road safety team is keen to try to increase the wearing rates further.

"We always carry out two counts – one before any publicity, education, training or enforcement and one after," says Dorset’s head of road safety, Robert Smith. "It is interesting to note how seat belt enforcement has the most dramatic effect of all, but police resources are too scarce to commit to this on a regular basis.

"It's also interesting to note that when schools are given the good or bad news after the first count, the results are nearly always better after the second count at those schools who help us to promote the seat belt wearing message.

"We peaked in 2001 at an average wearing rate of 83 per cent but the last 17 per cent or so will be the most difficult to influence. These are the habitual law breakers - but we'll keep trying to look for new ways to influence them," Robert Smith adds.

Further details about this article can be obtained from Robert Smith at Dorset County Council by e-mail: r.smith@dorsetcc.gov.uk.