Two buses with safety messages will tour the county

The message comes as 12% of men and 5% of women drivers in the county admitted to not wearing seat belts.

That has led to 2,000 fixed penalty tickets last year and 1,400 so far in 2004 for the offence across Leics.

Stickers on one side of two buses touring the county will remind drivers to wear a seatbelt, and the other side will encourage motorists to slow down.

'Keep safe'

The graphics will cover the entire side and rear of each bus in a special film that allows passengers to see out with the message being visible to everyone on the outside.

Roger Miller, deputy leader of Leicestershire County Council, said: "Keeping people safe on the county's roads is an important priority.

"The buses are a great way of promoting road safety directly to a large number of road users on a daily basis."

In 2003, Leicestershire Police recorded 76 injury collisions involving drivers or passengers who were not wearing a seat belt. This compares to 56 injury collisions so far during 2004.

It has been law to wear a front seat belt for the past 21 years and 13 years since it became compulsory to wear a seat belt in the rear.