Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief Assistant Secretary Virginia Torres said the agency will put more teeth in its drive against violators of the Seat Belt Law starting September.

In a recent interview, Torres said the LTO is giving non-compliant drivers more than a month to put or fix their defective seat belts and to also put warning signs like those reminding passengers against smoking inside PUVs.

"The vehicles of those who will not comply will be impounded and their drivers' license will be confiscated. A considerable amount of penalty fee can also be imposed to encourage our motorists to follow the law," she said.

With the recent reactivation of the LTO law enforcement arm, Torres said a more aggressive monitoring and apprehension of deviant drivers of private and public utility vehicles will be in place.

"We are only doing this based on what is stipulated in the law. Our public's safety is only what we are after," she added.

Based on LTO records, a total of 2,746 drivers were apprehended from June 1 to July 22, 2010 for violations of the Seat Belt Law, overspeeding, counterflow, defective vehicle lights, and not wearing proper work attire, among others.