One driver or passenger was spotted every two minutes not wearing their seatbelt as they motored into the city during an Oxford Mail investigation yesterday.

The figures last night shocked relatives of people who have been killed while not wearing seatbelts - and led to new calls for motorists to use them, 25 years after it became compulsory.

In two hours yesterday morning, 57 drivers and passengers were seen in Botley Road, Oxford, not wearing their belt - a rate of one almost every two minutes.

Police have been stepping up stop-checks across the county to coincide with the 25th anniversary.

Dwain Haynes' son Marshall was one of four boys who died on Oxford's eastern bypass in 2005. None was wearing a seatbelt.

Mr Haynes, of Blackbird Leys, said of the Mail probe: "It's shocking. I am amazed how many people don't wear seatbelts."

He added: "The only deterrent would be a death in their family or close friends, then they would realise how crucial it is."

Two years ago Sajid Wyaid, 27, of Banbury, died after he was flung 10ft from his car when it crashed on the A4260 near Shipton-on-Cherwell.

An inquest into his death revealed he was not wearing a seatbelt.

His sister Rizwan, 25, said: "I think it is really shocking.

"I don't think people are bothered until, like us, they go through a tragic time.

"Everyone should wear a seatbelt - even if it's a short journey round the corner."

Another sister Farzana, 31, said: "You must be stupid if you don't wear a seat belt. It's life and death these people are playing with."

The Oxford Mail counted 38 drivers and 19 passengers in Botley Road not wearing seat belts between 8am and 10am.

One driver was seen not only without a seatbelt but also talking on a mobile phone - a double whammy at breaking the law.

Sgt Bill Sykes, of Abingdon Roads Policing, said a third of deaths or serious injuries on the road involved people not wearing seat belts.

He said: "I've seen crashes where the one wearing a seatbelt survives and walks away unscathed, but the one not wearing a seatbelt unfortunately dies.

"It is such a huge contributory factor in fatal or serious injury collisions."

Sgt Sykes was worried many of the drivers we saw would have been travelling at high speed on the A34 before turning into Botley Road.

He added: "Wearing a seat belt is one of the most important things you can do to maintain your own safety. We will keep going out and prosecuting people because it's for their own benefit."

A spokesman for road safety charity Brake said: "It is very worrying because putting on a seatbelt is a simple act to protect yourself."

Oxfordshire's fire crews are urging drivers to wear seatbelts and cut speed as part of its 365 Alive campaign - which aims to save 365 lives by 2016.