Tell the kids to belt up!
Young motorists failing to wear seatbelts
When seat belts were made mandatory on 31 January 1983, most drivers against the idea were in the mature bracket.
Now, it seems to be young drivers and passengers who ignore the laws and road safety data.
AA Charitable Trust is calling for more to be done to reverse this trend.
Success and failure
Shortly after the seatbelts-wearing law came into force, 90% of car drivers and front-seat passengers were observed to be wearing seatbelts.
Moreover, a 29% reduction in fatal injuries of front-seat passengers and a 30% drop in serious injuries were reported that year.
New analysis by The AA Charitable Trust shows almost half (43%) of young passengers (17-29) who die in car crashes are not belted.
Stark facts
Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of death by around 50%.
This means that around a quarter of all young car passenger deaths could be avoided if all young passengers put their belts on.
Analysed across all ages, unbelted fatalities fall to 27% of car passengers.
It highlights the disproportionate number of young passengers being killed when not wearing their seatbelt.
Young, male car passengers are more likely to die unbelted in a car crash than their female peers.
The research, based on five years of car crash data where seatbelt-wearing status was known, shows 68% of young passengers who die unbelted are male.
These crashes are also more likely to happen at night, with 74% of young, unbelted, passenger fatalities happening in the night or evening.
New Department for Transport data shows the rate of seatbelt non-wearing fatalities for car occupants is highest for rear seat passengers (40%).
Weekends also show the highest rates of non-seatbelt wearing among car fatalities (28% Saturday; 30% Sunday).
Driving into trouble
While passengers not belting up is an issue, young drivers are also needlessly dying due to not wearing their seatbelt.
The AA Trust analysis shows one-third (29%) of young drivers (17-29) who die in car crashes are not belted.
Staggeringly, 95% of these are male.
Overall, 32% of drivers who died unbelted were aged 17-29, despite this age group only accounting for around 14% of driving licences.
Research was commissioned to mark the start of a new focus on the importance of wearing a seatbelt, particularly among young people.
Changing attitudes
Additional research into attitudes to wearing seatbelts among new and learner drivers shows:
- 14% say they are less likely to wear a seatbelt on a short journey as a passenger
- 24% of young drivers said they had driven while their passengers were not belted up
- 17% said they have driven without a seatbelt on
- 11.6% of young drivers say they are less likely to wear a seatbelt as a passenger in the backseat.
- 7.6% said they are less likely to wear a seatbelt on a short journey as a driver;
Momentary lapses
AA/Yonder polling of qualified drivers shows one in twenty (5%) of drivers would take their seatbelt off to change clothes in a moving vehicle.
A small but significant minority (2%) would remove their seatbelt to change seats in a moving vehicle.
The AA Charitable Trust has launched a new Seatbelts Factsheet available here.
They have also called for six penalty points for new drivers caught not wearing their seatbelts, under a raft of proposed measures to improve new driver safety.
Alongside this, the trust is calling for a continued focus on the importance of seatbelt-wearing to help educate young people about the dangers and aid in a reduction in the number of people needlessly killed every year.
Helping yourselves
Edmund King, Director of the AA Charitable Trust, said: “Wearing a seatbelt is the single most effective way to protect yourself, and others in the car with you, from death and serious injury.
“It is an utter tragedy that young people are dying as passengers and drivers because they have failed to put their seatbelt on.
“This research marks the start of a renewed focus from the AA Trust on the simple importance of wearing a seatbelt. We hope our calls will unite others from across the road safety network, including driving schools, to ensure the message reaches the young people most at risk.
“Our message to young passengers is clear – belt up in the back – it could save your life, and the lives of others in the car with you.”
Meanwhile, the Future of Roads Minister Lilian Greenwood said: “This stark data highlights a preventable tragedy. Far too many young lives are being cut short simply because seatbelts aren’t being worn.
“We’re committed to working alongside road safety organisations and through initiatives like our THINK! ‘CLICK’ campaign, which reminds young people of the life-saving importance of them and their friends belting up whatever the journey. A simple ‘CLICK’ can save lives.”