One in seven drivers still not belting up – despite 40 years of warnings

• Despite TV campaigns to highlight the importance of wearing a seatbelt, new figures show 27,000 Scots a year are caught not wearing one. Picture: Getty Images

The latest figures show 27,000 people in Scotland are caught not wearing a seatbelt every year – and that 14 per cent of drivers admit not wearing a seatbelt for short trips.

Now a new campaign - with the slogan "Have You Clicked?" – is urging all Scottish drivers and passengers to belt up, with road safety campaigners saying one death every fortnight could be avoided if everyone wore a seatbelt.

Chief Constable Kevin Smith, head of road policing for the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), said: "The seatbelt is a vital safety tool, designed to protect drivers and passengers.

"Despite continual safety warnings, I am deeply concerned we are still catching thousands of people every year who are not wearing a seatbelt. By simply putting on a seatbelt, the risk of being seriously injured in a collision – or worse, killed – is dramatically reduced."

The new Have You Clicked? campaign, launched by ACPOS and Road Safety Scotland, aims to target motorists who are still not wearing seatbelts. According to new figures, 5 per cent of motorists do not belt up regularly – with 14 per cent saying they do not always wear a seatbelt on short trips. According to the campaigners, white-van drivers, young men, company-car drivers and people with expensive cars are most prone to take a risk by not wearing a seatbelt.

Director of Road Safety Scotland, Michael McDonnell, said: "Seatbelt usage reduces the chance of fatal injury by about 50 per cent but, worryingly, we know thousands of people are risking their lives every year.

"It's time for a renewed focus on seatbelt wearing and the best way to do this is to spread the word as widely as possible, which is why we are delighted that so many partners are supporting Have You Clicked?."

Professor David Stone, an expert on injury and accident prevention based at Glasgow University, said: "Seatbelts have saved countless lives since they were introduced on a wide scale in the 1970s.

"Large numbers of fatal or life-threatening head injuries and disfiguring facial lacerations are prevented or minimised by reducing the likelihood of car occupants colliding with the windscreen or being thrown from the vehicle in a crash.

"Not only are people who don't wear seatbelts breaking the law, they are putting themselves and other car occupants at higher risk of death, serious injury and lifelong disability. Wearing a seatbelt is easy, sensible and could save your life."

More than 50 organisations – including Kwik-Fit, Tesco, BP and Arnold Clark – and a host of courier, taxi, distribution and van hire companies as well as private businesses and public sector organisations – are backing the campaign.

Simple safety device could save 26 Scots lives a year

KEY facts regarding the use of seatbelts in Scotland:

ONE in three people killed on Scotland's roads is not wearing a seatbelt – and in about half of those cases a seatbelt could have saved their lives.

The Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland estimate 26 people killed on the roads each year would be saved if they wore a seatbelt.

Every fatal road accident has been estimated to cost the Scottish economy 1.94 million. Therefore, the cost to the economy of accidents where seatbelts are not worn is estimated to be 101m per year.

The Clunk Click campaign, started in 1971, was one of the most successful public-safety campaigns of all time.

According to Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, 60,000 lives have been saved since seatbelt wearing was made compulsory in 1983.

In a crash at 30mph, if you are unrestrained, your body will hit anything in front of you with a force of between 30 and 60 times your own body weight

If caught not wearing your seatbelt you will be given a 60 fixed-penalty notice but could be fined up to 500. The driver is also responsible for anyone under 14 not wearing a seatbelt, and liable for the 60 penalty for each unrestrained child.