New data reveals that more than one-in-three of the young people killed in car accidents were not wearing a seatbelt.
The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety analysed accident statistics for the past five years. Among its findings, it found that seatbelts were not worn by 35.6 percent of those aged 17 to 29 who had died in car crashes.
Across all age ranges, by comparison, less than one-quarter (24.6 percent) of vehicle occupant fatalities were unbelted.
It means the proportion of those aged between 17 and 29 killed while not wearing a seatbelt was 45 percent higher than all age groups combined.
Department for Transport (DfT) data has previously shown that vehicle occupants are twice as likely to die in a car crash if they do not have a seatbelt on.
Younger male drivers the biggest risk
The AA Charitable Trust also found that, between 2021 and 2025, 14 percent of vehicle drivers aged between 17 and 24 killed or seriously injured (KSI) were not wearing their seatbelt. This compares to 10 percent for all age groups in KSI vehicle collisions.
In addition, nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of KSI casualties from collisions involving at least one younger car driver were male.
Previous DfT findings revealed that 17 to 24-year old male drivers are four times more likely to be killed or seriously injured than those aged over 25.
Proportionately, 75 percent more unbelted car occupants are killed in urban areas than on rural roads. In addition, drivers without a seatbelt on shorter trips (less than one mile) were over twice as likely to be killed as those on longer journeys.
Time for young people to belt up
Edmund King OBE, director of the AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety, said: “These are shocking figures. More than one in three young people killed in cars were not wearing a seatbelt. Behind every statistic is a life cut short and families and friends left devastated. Yet in a crash you are twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seatbelt.
“Seatbelts are the simplest and most effective safety measure. Clicking one into place takes seconds, yet too many young drivers and passengers are still taking unnecessary and fatal risks.
“Our message to young drivers is simple: Don’t move until everyone is belted up. And to passengers: look out for yourself and your mates. Wherever you sit, however short the journey, belt up.”
The AA Trust is planning to continue its #BeltUp campaign, which targets younger male drivers in particular, to remind them of the importance of wearing a seatbelt.
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