Up Beat

CAR SPECIAL

26 April 2007

Southwark falls on the southern edge the Congestion Zone and is a major road artery into the centre of London.

This is a borough of car users. In this edition of Up Beat, we want to remind you of some of the current laws around drink driving and the wearing of seat belts.

Firstly though, we'd like to offer some advice on making your car more secure when left unattended.  Happy motoring…

Car Security

1) Always check to make sure that windows are closed and doors are locked

2) Never leave anything on display in your car that could attract a thief, like loose change, a mobile phone, a coat or shopping bags

3) Always remove your Satellite Navigation System (Sat Nav) from the car.  Do not leave your Sat Nav in the glove box when away from the vehicle.  Wipe away any sucker marks from the windscreen as thieves look out for these

4) Ensure your number plates are fixed with security screws as thieves have used innocent members of the public's number plates to commit crime

5) Ensure your disabled parking permit badge is correctly registered to you through the council.

Drink drive laws

3,000 people are killed or seriously injured on our roads each year in drink drive related crashes and nearly one in six of all deaths on the road involve drivers who are over the legal limit.

If you drive at twice the current legal alcohol limit (The legal alcohol limit for driving in the UK is 80 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood ) you are at least 50 times more likely to be involved in a fatal car crash compared to a driver who has not been drinking.

When to belt up

Front
must be worn by drivers and passengers where a seat belt is fitted.

Rear
Passengers in the rear of cars and taxis must be restrained where the seat belt is fitted and available. If there are 3 passengers but only 2 seat belts, 2 passengers must wear the seat belts, the third does not commit an offence by not wearing one.

Adults
Every person (of 14 years and over) driving or riding in the front seat, and riding in the rear seats of a motor vehicle (includes Large Goods Vehicle) or passenger car shall wear an adult seat belt.

Children
Starting from Monday 18 September 2006 the law was changed to state that children under 135cms (4' 5") or aged under 12, whichever they reach first, use an appropriate child car restraint when travelling in a vehicle.

- Children under 3 years must use a child restraint appropriate for their weight in any vehicle, including vans and other goods vehicles.
There is only one exception, a child under three may travel unrestrained in the rear of a taxi if the right child seat is not available

- Rear-facing baby seats must not be used in a seat protected by frontal air-bag unless the air-bag has been deactivated manually or automatically

- Children over 3 years old and up to either 135cms in height, or the age of 12 must be restrained
Three exceptions allow these children to travel in the rear and use an adult seat belt:

- In a taxi, if the right child restraint is not available

- For a short distance in an unexpected necessity, if the right child restraint is not available

- Where two occupied child seats in the rear prevent the fitment of a third child seat.

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