Motorists who do not wear a seat belt should face penalty points on their driving licence, a minister has been told.
The Government faced calls to introduce a stricter punishment after the Prime Minister was issued with a fixed penalty notice for not wearing a seat belt while travelling as a passenger in a moving car. Rishi Sunak was spotted without a seat belt in an Instagram video he filmed while travelling during a visit to Lancashire on January 19.
In the Lords, Lib Dem peer Baroness Randerson called for the harsher penalty, telling peers: "Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the introduction of seat belt laws in the UK. It has saved many thousands of lives since, yet in 2021, 30% of those killed in car accidents were not wearing their seat belts. The recent experience of the Prime Minister has revealed the importance of raising awareness."
She added: "The current £100 fine with no penalty points is out of kilter with the fines, for example, looking at your mobile phone which is £200 and six penalty points. Will she guarantee that the Government will review the law on seat belts with a view to introducing penalty points?"
Transport minister Baroness Vere of Norbiton replied: "The Government is doing a significant amount of work when it comes to road safety and, indeed, in the three years that I was the roads minister I took much of that work forward. We will be publishing the road safety strategic framework in spring and that will look at all different elements of road safety with a focus on how we can reduce deaths and also serious injury."
Lady Randerson's call to ministers came as the Government also faced questions about how the brightness of LED car headlights is regulated.
Labour peer Baroness Hayter of Kentish Town said: "The RAC has reported that nine out of 10 drivers think that headlights are too bright. 90% of them say that they get dazzled."
She said that the College of Optometrists had assured her it was "not just elderly eyes like mine" but also younger people who faced issues with dazzle. Lady Vere replied that the RAC survey was "self-selecting", adding: "In 2018 there was research and it concluded that overall there is no direct adverse health benefits from LED emissions in normal use. Indeed they may reduce light sensitivity due to the absence of UV radiation."
She had earlier told peers: "Work is ongoing at an international level to develop and introduce improved headlight aiming requirements and these are also likely to mandate automatic headlight levelling systems on new cars."
