Drivers in Medway are the second worst offenders in Kent for not wearing their seat belts or using their mobile phones while driving.

During a week-long crackdown by Kent Police and the Kent & Medway Safety Camera Partnership throughout the county, 253 people were spotted not wearing their seat belts and almost 50 drivers were caught using their phones.

Those caught using their phones were given £60 fixed penalty notices and three points on their licences.

Motorists caught driving without their seat belts on were given £30 fines.

Fourteen of the seat belt fines given across the county were issued to drivers who had unrestrained children in their cars.

In Medway, 55 people were spotted offending; this included 47 adults not wearing a seat belt, and one who was fined for not restraining their child into a seat.

Another seven people in Medway were spotted and fined for using their mobile phones while driving.

The crackdown was carried out between Monday, February 16, and Sunday, February 22, at various speed camera sites, including one on the Northern Link Road, in Gillingham.

Consequences

A spokesman for the Kent and Medway Safety Camera Partnership said: “Besides the obvious consequences of being fined or facing a prison sentence, talking or texting on a phone can impair a driver’s ability to the same extent as if they were above the legal alcohol limit.

“Similarly, despite continued publicity about the dangers of not wearing seat belts, last year 95 people died in road traffic collisions in Kent and Medway, 18 of whom had not been wearing their seat belts and may have survived if they had belted up.”

Ch Insp Roscoe Walford, head of roads policing in the county, said “This shows the extent of the problem.

“There are four main factors which contribute to collisions that end with serious consequences – speeding, being distracted while driving (for example talking on the telephone), not wearing a seat belt and drink-driving.

“By enforcing these offences we aim to reduce the number of casualties on our county’s roads. Enforcement levels by Kent Police will remain high and motorists are warned they will be caught if they are using their phone or not wearing their seat belt.”