YOU can't legislate for stupidity - or so the saying goes. Well, actually you can, as the number of people caught flouting seatbelt laws shows.

When the Conservative government made the wearing of seatbelts compulsory - for front seat passengers, anyway - in 1983, they did so because of the overwhelming evidence showing belts save lives.

If you are in a car crash, but you are wearing a seatbelt, your chance of receiving a fatal or serious injury is reduced by about 50 per cent.

More than 20 years later, buckling up in the front and back is second nature for the majority of drivers and passengers.

And yet, police in south Worcestershire fined 334 people last month for not wearing a belt, more than double the same month last year.

According to senior officers, "complacency is on the rise".

New cars are far safer than they were 20 years ago, with better brakes, airbags and side-impact bars, all contributing to making drivers feel 'secure'.

These same cars are, however, also bigger, heavier and faster - and there are a lot more of them.

Going through a windscreen in 2005 will have the same effect as going through a windscreen in 1982. It will either kill you or do you a permanent injury.

Ultimately, it's your decision. If you don't want to wear a seatbelt, then so be it. But are you really so sure it will never save your life?