One person might have been saved if they had worn their seat belt in Canterbury already this year says Inspector Derek Erasmus, Traffic Manager.
"Five have died on our roads this year, two were not wearing a seatbelt and at least one of them would have survived if they'd had it on," he says.
In 2007 of the 56 who died on Canterbury roads, of the 20 were not wearing seat belts, 15 would survived, Inspector Erasmus says.
"Police enforcement directly affects the number of people who wear seat belts - who therefore have a greater chance of surviving a crash."
Four weeks ago Canterbury police launched a continuing campaign targeting seat belts. In those four weeks 2200 people have been prosecuted for not wearing a seat belt. This compares to an average of 580/month in previous years.
"This high rate of enforcement will continue until fewer people are unnecessarily killed through not wearing a seat belt," says Derek Erasmus.
"We shall not be warning for this offence. My staff feel disheartened when they investigate and realise that this life could have been saved."