There’s a ‘stark contrast’ between younger and older drivers who always wear a seat belt.

This is the conclusion of a new survey by Brake, Direct Line and Green Flag.

The survey of over 2,000 drivers asked participants: ‘Do you ever make a journey in a car without wearing a seat belt?’.

The age divide

The results show that of those aged between 25-34 years, 38% admitted to not always wearing a seat belt.

For respondents aged between 18-24 years, the figure was 29% – and among 25-44 year-olds it was 26%.

At the other end of the age scale, just 4% of drivers aged 55 years or above admitted to occasionally not buckling up. In the age group 45-54 years, 6% said they do not always belt up.

Brake says wearing a seat belt is the “most basic and vital vehicle safety feature of all”.

Tragedy

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, says the basics underpin all road safety. He describes modern safety features such as advanced emergency braking systems, as “life-savers”. However, despite these technological advances, it “tragic” that crashes are still occurring and too many people are suffering.

“People continue to die or be catastrophically injured because some of us are still not using the most basic and vital vehicle safety feature of all – seat belts.”

Help online

The survey has been published to support Brake’s new Roadmap to Safe and Healthy Journey project. This is an online resource that enables people to learn about, and commit to making, safe and healthy journey choices. The importance of wearing a seatbelt is part of this advice and support.