Traffic and Highway Patrol has identified the ten worst local areas throughout the state where drivers have been identified for not wearing seat belts since 2013.

These are (from 2013 to YTD 2015):

1. St George LAC: 1851

2. Sydney City LAC: 1389

3. Flemington: 1376

4. Bankstown: 1217

5. Tweed/Byron: 1185

6. Lake Macquarie: 1079

7. Mt Druitt: 998

8. Orana: 983

9. Macquarie Fields: 981

10. Richmond LAC (northern NSW): 924

Assistant Commissioner John Hartley, Commander of the State’s Traffic and Highway Patrol Command, said that despite enforcement by police and constant reminders through the media, drivers still aren’t getting the message.

“Since 2013, officers have issued 47,890 infringements to those not wearing seat belts, 1560 of those were issued to Learner and Provisional licence holders.

“That is nearly 50,000 people in just over two years that have run the risk of serious injury, or even death in a crash.

“Last year during a road safety operation, officers issued over 300 infringements in a single day, 90 of which were in the Sydney CBD and surrounding areas.

“Seat belts are there to save lives, and the simple task of putting on a seat belt combined with other safety features in modern vehicles, give drivers and passengers the greatest chance possible in the event of a collision.

“Although it has been compulsory to wear seatbelts in New South Wales since 1971, each year on average there are more than 50 people killed and 300 injured who were not wearing seatbelts. These deaths and injuries may have been prevented if seatbelts had been used,” Assistant Commissioner Hartley said.

General Manager Centre for Road Safety, Marg Prendergast, said seatbelts are the most fundamental safety device in your car.

“When we made seatbelts compulsory in 1971, over 1000 people were killed on NSW roads each year, which is well over three times the 2014 road toll,” Ms Prendergast said.

“Over the last 40 years, seatbelts have helped to save hundreds, if not thousands of lives and have prevented many more injuries.

“Even in minor crashes, without a seatbelt you could be thrown around the vehicle, leaving you and possibly others in your car, seriously injured,” she said.