NRMA's Western NSW director is astounded five-year-olds know the first thing to do when getting into a car is to put on a seatbelt, but adults are failing to perform the simple task.
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A new report issued by the state government found the amount of fines issued to motorists in the Orana Highway Patrol Sector in the 2013-14 financial year increased by $14,204 compared to 2012-13, while the number of offences in the same period rose by 45.
In the 2013-14 financial year, 309 notices were issued to people in the region not wearing a seatbelt - an increase of 18 per cent from the previous year - equating to $93,936 worth of fines.
The figures are more than three times the number of offences that were issued in 2010-11 (82) and more than four times the amount that was paid in fines ($21,414).
In NSW, it has been compulsory to wear seatbelts since 1971, according to Transport NSW an average of 50 people are killed and 300 are injured each year for not wearing seatbelts.
Western NSW director Graham Blight said putting on a seatbelt was one of the most simple safety exercises, and yet statistics were alarming.
"These kids of five and six and seven, they know the rules. 'What's the first thing you do when you get in the car?' and their hands shoot up - you put on your seatbelt."
Mr Blight said the number of fatalities which occurred from people not wearing seatbelts should be encouragement enough for motorists to buckle up.
"In this day and age it's extraordinary. In the last statistics we looked at, 20 per cent of fatalities didn't wear a seatbelt.
"It's mind boggling. One of the biggest ways to cut back on fatalities is seatbelts and there are still a percentage of people not wearing them. It is quite stupid that this sort of thing happens."
In March 2014 alone, 46 notices were issued by police for people in the Orana area not wearing their seatbelt, the highest number of offences recorded in one month in the past eight years.
Mr Blight said the normal driving public could not understand why people still did not wear seatbelts.