Busy summer for police in North Devon.

Force aims to cut fatalities by 40 per cent by 2020 as it urges car users to wear seatbelts.

POLICE in North Devon are promoting a European wide campaign to cut road fatalities by 40 per cent by 2020.

Officers will be working to encourage drivers and passengers to wear seatbelts, after a study of 1,059 victims of car crashes showed 21 per cent were not wearing seatbelts.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: “Drivers and passengers aged between 17 and 34 have the lowest seatbelt-wearing rates combined with the highest accident rate.

“People are less likely to use seat belts on short or familiar journeys, putting themselves at serious risk of injury in a crash.

“Evidence shows that one life a day could be saved if all vehicle occupants wore a seatbelt, or suitable in-vehicle restraint.”

Police across the area will be working closely with local road casualty reduction officers and anyone caught not wearing a seatbelt will be fined £60.

The initiative is organised by the European traffic police network, TISPOL.