Clause 24 - Breach of requirements relating to children and seat belts
Road Safety Bill [Lords]
5:00 pm
Alistair Carmichael (Shadow Secretary of State for Transport, Transport; Orkney and Shetland, Liberal Democrat)
My understanding was that carrying children in the front of the car would have been covered by other provisions. The Minister makes a fair point, and as I said, they are probing amendments. He is right: an horrific number of people are caught by the police for the offence every year. I know that because I have prosecuted an horrific number of them over the years. A significant number attend court personally or say by letter that they are prepared to take the financial hit—the financial penalty. For a person to take that view for themselves is a matter for themselves. Children should be treated differently, and the only way in which people are going to take the offence seriously is if they receive points on their licence, rather than a mere financial penalty.
The matter will not go away, and I think that eventually we will have our way. For today, however, I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.