Itchy shoulder trick fails to dodge fines for not belting up on Northamptonshire A14

Police cameras spotted 27 people not wearing seatbelts during one stint snapping dodgy drivers on the A14 in Northamptonshire — including a number with suddenly itchy shoulders.

Plenty tried to hide their failure to belt up with arms across bodies but to no avail.

A spokesman for the Safer Roads Team, who carried out the enforcement near junction one near Welford on Thursday (March 10), said: “A number of drivers seemed to have a sudden urge to hold their right shoulder upon seeing the van. You know you should have it on, so put it on."

Anybody spotted not wearing a seatbelt risks a hefty fine and in some cases going to court.

Not belting up is one of the so-called ‘fatal four’ traffic offences — alongside drink-driving, speeding and using a mobile phone.

PC Dave Lee added: “Wearing a seat belt in a car is such a basic piece of road safety advice that it amazes me that some people still fail to use one. This also applies to people not wearing their seat belt correctly.

“By not wearing a seat belt, you’re 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle and twice as likely to die in from injuries as a result of a collision. So please take responsibility for your personal safety on the roads and belt up.

“Having attended a number of fatal road traffic collisions where people have been ejected from the car, the consequences of not wearing a seat belt just aren’t worth contemplating.”