Safety camera vans to be used for seatbelt checks
Leicestershire PoliceLeicestershire Police safety camera vans will be used to monitor drivers and passengers not wearing seatbelts as part of a week-long pilot scheme.
People detected during the trial, which starts on Saturday, will receive warning letters about the risks associated with not wearing a seatbelt, rather than face prosecution.
The initiative is part of an educational project and will be reviewed after the monitoring period.
The force said its decision to broaden enforcement activity followed an increase in road casualties across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland this year.
It said 30 people died on the area's roads during the first eight months of 2026, compared with 20 during the same period last year.
Matthew Chester, road safety unit manager at Leicestershire Police, said: "Following this week of seatbelt monitoring, we will review our findings and assess the evidence gathered.
"This will help inform whether seatbelt detection becomes a permanent part of our road safety enforcement strategy in the future."
Leicestershire Police said its fleet of safety camera vans had been upgraded since 2023, with improved imaging technology capable of producing clearer evidential-quality images, particularly in low-light conditions.
Kate Garrigan, watch manager for community safety at Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service, said people who chose not to wear a seatbelt were placing themselves at "significant and entirely avoidable risk".
"Alongside drink and drug driving, mobile phone distraction, excessive speeding and dangerous driving, failing to wear a seatbelt is one of the fatal five offences, the behaviours most likely to result in death or serious injury on our roads," she added.
"Far too often, our crews witness the devastating consequences of these decisions when attending serious road traffic collisions."
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