Police stunned after seven-seater carrying FOURTEEN people including children is pulled over
- Officers were left stunned after stopping the vehicle in Basford, Nottingham
Police were stunned when they pulled over a seven-seater car on a busy road and discovered 14 people inside.
Officers decided to stop the Vauxhall Zafira along Nottingham Road, in Basford, Nottingham, on suspicion of overloading on Monday, May 27.
But they were shocked to discover double the number of legally permitted passengers were inside, including eight children not wearing seat belts.
The male driver has now been summoned to court for careless driving.
He will also be charged with failing to ensure that children under the age of 14 were wearing seat belts and operating a motor vehicle where the number of passengers was likely to endanger them.
Police were stunned to find fourteen people, including children, in a seven-seater car. Pictured: An officer speaks to people outside the vehicle
Police stopped the vehicle (pictured) in Nottingham Road, Basford, Nottingham on Monday, May 27
PC Dan Bird, from Nottinghamshire Police’s Radford Road Response team, said: ‘Carrying too many passengers in a vehicle is a serious offence, mainly due to the safety risks it poses.
‘People are twice as likely to die in a car accident if they are not wearing a seat belt. That’s why we were extremely alarmed when we found eight children in this vehicle without seat belts.
‘Drivers should always consider the passenger capacity of their vehicle as failure to comply can have devastating consequences.
‘Additionally, driving with more passengers than there are seat belts can void your car insurance, leaving you uninsured in the event of an accident.
‘You can also receive penalty points on your driver’s license and a fine. In serious cases you can be summoned to court, where the penalties can be more severe.’
After police posted photos of the bizarre incident on social media, stunned internet users reacted in surprise.
One person commented: ‘How do you even get fourteen people in a car?’, while another added: ‘This is unbelievable.’
A third said: ‘Our kids are fighting with two in the back!’ and another wrote: ‘It’s just common sense, why would you need to be told that as an adult.’
By law, all drivers and passengers must wear a seat belt when traveling in a car, van or other vehicle, whether sitting in the front seat or as a backseat passenger.
The driver is responsible for ensuring that children under the age of 14 wear one.
Passengers aged 14 and over are responsible for wearing a seat belt.
Passengers caught not wearing a seat belt when one is available, unless they have a special reason for not doing so, could be asked to pay a fine of £100.
This fine can increase to £500 if the case goes to court.
