People in Spain still reluctant to buckle-up

A TOTAL of 4,516 people have been caught not wearing a seatbelt by Spanish traffic authorities in just one week of an intense surveillance campaign.

Of the total, 2,824 were drivers and the remaining 1,692 were passengers, and 287 children under the age of 12 were also spotted not using correct car-seats, 70 of them travelling in the front seats of cars.

The authorities carried out spot checks on 416,917 vehicles during the campaign, which brought to light the limited influence various awareness campaigns have had on the number of people who still fail to buckle up.

The General Traffic Authority (DGT) stated that in the first two months of this year, 21 of the 109 people who died in traffic accidents were not wearing seatbelts.