
Seat belts facts and figures
Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of death in a serious crash by up to 50%.
Reference: McCarthy, M. & Seidl, M. (2014), CLIENT PROJECT REPORT CPR1818: Benefit assessment for fitment of Seat Belt Reminder (SBR) systems to M1 passenger seat positions and to other vehicle types, TRL for European Commission
On average more than a fifth of car occupants killed in road crashes in Britain are not wearing a seat belt.
Reference: Department for Transport (2023). RAS0711: Proportion of car occupant fatalities not wearing a seat belt: Great Britain, from 2013
Half of young drivers aged 18–24 admit being in a car with someone who wasn’t wearing a seat belt.
Reference: Brake (2019) Half of young drivers admit to being in a car with someone not belted up
Wearing a seat belt is a legal requirement for all drivers and passengers. Drivers are responsible for making sure children under 14 wear a seat belt. Passengers aged 14 and above are responsible for their own belts. Children must use a child car seat until they are 12 years old, or 135cm tall, whichever comes first.
Only 92% of back-seat passengers in Great Britain wear seat belts, compared with 95% of drivers and passengers in the front seat.
For all car occupants – including taxi and private hire vehicles – 84% of adult rear-seat passengers in England and Wales were recorded wearing seat belts in 2021.
Reference: Department for Transport (2022) Seat belt and mobile phone use surveys: England and Scotland, 2021