Seat belt violations for passengers in the front and back seats accounted for 99.8% of all safety belt violations of small size vehicles from July 1 to September 15 in Guangzhou, the city's traffic police said earlier this month. The other 0.2% were assessed against drivers without belts.

Drivers are fined for passenger seat belt violations in highway service areas in the city during a police's action to target highway traffic violations that begins in July.

To promote safety awareness of drivers and passengers, and emphasize the importance of wearing seat belts, smart surveillance devices have been adopted to check for safety belt violations.

Local laws subject drivers who fail to use a seat belt on highways to fines of 200 yuan (US$ 32) and to losing two points from their driving records. Under China's traffic rules, a driver's license will be revoked once 12 points are deducted. In addition, a driver with passengers who don't wear seat belts will be fined 200 yuan.

Police data show that 14 people died in traffic accidents on highways in Guangzhou from July 1 to September 15. Eight were not wearing seat belts, accounting for 57% of the death toll.

Guangzhou traffic police also said that drivers should check the safety of their vehicles in case of high temperatures, frequent rain, strong wind or other inclement weather. When thunderstorms reduce visibility on highways to less than 100 meters, police recommend drivers to leave the highway via the nearest exit. They also suggest removing perfume bottles, lighters and other flammable goods from cars. Bottles of perfume have the potential to explode in cars when the temperature of a vehicle is very high.