‘Clunk click every trip’ was made famous by Sir Jimmy Savile way back in 1972 but the seatbelt campaign has now been brought back to life 38 years later in North Yorkshire in a bid to reduce car accident casualties.

The new campaign, aimed at seven to 11-year olds, is being launched by 95 Alive, the York and North Yorkshire Road Safety Partnership and features a mascot, the Seatbelt Sheriff, who tells children and adults of the importance of wearing a seatbelt.

The launch of Clunk Click comes as new figures show mixed results on whether people are belting up before a journey.

The survey, on 8,300 vehicles in the North Yorkshire region found that the number of children not wearing a seatbelt had halved to 4.6% although the number of adults was slightly up.

On a national level, 290 deaths occur in roads accidents each year as a direct result of people not wearing a seatbelt.

David Bowe, chair of 95 Alive, said: “This campaign reinforces this simple but totally effective message. Drivers have a moral responsibility for the safety of themselves and all their passengers and are legally obliged to ensure they and any passenger under the age of 14 is wearing a seatbelt.”

To get the message across, the Seatbelt Sheriff is visiting schools throughout the region and junior road safety officers are being encouraged to run competitions and road safety initiatives throughout the year, to keep the topic fresh in young people’s minds.

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