Crash victim's warning over not wearing seatbelts

Seth Marks, 21, says he needs round-the-clock care after being seriously injured in a crash

New Artificial Intelligence (AI) cameras installed on a stretch of road have shown thousands of drivers and passengers are not wearing seatbelts, a council has found.

The cameras were put in place along the A361 Frome bypass in Somerset, where six people have died in the last five years.

Somerset Council said 4,407 people were spotted not wearing seatbelts in the four months between March and July, with thousands of other driving offences also logged.

Seth Marks, 21, who became paralysed from the waist down in a crash, told the BBC: "I really strongly believe if I was wearing a seatbelt I wouldn't have sustained such serious injuries."

Nick Cowling, Road Safety Manager at Somerset Council, said the cameras showed more work was necessary.

"We all thought the 'clunk click' campaign was very successful. It was a problem in road safety we thought we'd solved but now we know we need to do more work on it," he said.

The cameras have been installed as part of road safety measures along the bypass

Mr Marks, from Devon, said he got into a car with an intoxicated driver in 2022 and did not wear a seatbelt, a decision he said he will "regret for the rest of my life".

His disability means he needs round-the-clock care, he added.

"I struggle to literally do anything for myself," he said. "Basic human needs - I can't do any of that."

Mr Cowling said the AI cameras were first brought in to monitor how many people were using their mobile phones behind the wheel but they have led to much further learning.

He said the findings "confirmed we had a problem" with seatbelt usage.

Avon and Somerset Police data shows 52 people were killed on roads in the force area last year.

There is a broader Fatal Five campaign launched between Somerset Council and Avon and Somerset Police which highlights the dangers of:

• Speeding

• Distraction

• Not wearing seatbelts

• Drink or drug driving

• Careless driving

MP Anna Sabine said the Frome bypass was "an incredibly dangerous stretch of road" and has welcomed road safety measures

Somerset MPs Sarah Dyke and Anna Sabine have both campaigned for improved safety along the Frome bypass where the AI cameras were trialled.

Ms Sabine, the Liberal Democrat MP for Frome and East Somerset, is encouraged more is being done.

"This is an incredibly dangerous stretch of road, which has had far too many collisions and near misses to be considered an acceptable roadway for the public," she said.

"When I first campaigned on this having just come into office last year, drastic changes like this seemed a long way off, so I am so pleased to see that the AI camera initiative will potentially lead to real changes being made so we can all feel safer driving."

In the longer term, Somerset Council has commissioned a review of the A361/ A362 junction to see how safety can be improved.