More than one in three young people aged 17 to 29 killed in car crashes were not wearing a seatbelt.

New analysis from the AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety & Environment reveals the continuing failure of seat belt campaigns to get through.

It also raises the issue of young drivers’ and passengers’ problem attitudes to road safety.

They won’t belt up

The AA Charitable Trust’s analysis of Department for Transport data covering 2021 to 2025 found that 35.6% of car occupants aged 17–29 who were killed were not wearing a seatbelt.

That compares with 24.6% of car occupant fatalities across all age groups, which means the proportion among younger people was around 45% higher.

The figures come as the AA Charitable Trust prepares the next phase of its #BeltUp campaign, targeting young drivers and passengers, particularly young men.

Edmund King OBE, Director of The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety, said the figures were “shocking”.

“More than one in three young people killed in cars were not wearing a seatbelt,” he said. “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.”

He added: “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.”

Official failures

The wider DfT data paints a similar picture.

Between 2021 and 2025, 14% of younger car drivers aged 17–24 involved in KSI collisions were not wearing a seatbelt, the joint-highest proportion of any age group.

For drivers aged 70 and over, the figure was just 4%.

The DfT’s final 2025 statistics show that around one quarter of car occupant fatalities with known seatbelt status were not wearing a belt.

Among younger fatalities, the proportion was higher for those travelling during the evening and night.

There is a striking contrast between those casualty figures and everyday seatbelt use.

The latest DfT observational survey, carried out in England in autumn 2023, found 97.6% of drivers were observed wearing a seatbelt, while 95.2% of front-seat passengers were belted.

Scotland recorded 96.4% for drivers and 95.7% for front-seat passengers.

The implication is that the small minority who choose not to wear a belt are disproportionately represented among those killed.

The DfT’s Road Safety Strategy indicators show that the proportion of motor-vehicle occupants killed who were recorded as not wearing a seatbelt was 24% in 2025, with no clear long-term trend over the past decade.

Short and dark

The AA Trust’s analysis identifies several patterns that could help target future interventions.

Unbelted drivers making journeys of less than one mile were more than twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured as unbelted drivers travelling 100 miles or more.

Urban roads also feature prominently.

The Trust found that 37.2% of unbelted car-occupant fatalities occurred on urban roads, compared with 21.3% on rural roads and 23.7% on motorways.

Night-time driving is another concern, with 39.4% of unbelted car-occupant deaths occurring in the evening or at night, compared with 17.1% during daylight hours.

King said the campaign needed to challenge the belief that seatbelts were somehow optional on short journeys.

“The laws of physics don’t change because you’re only going down the road,” he said.

“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, #BeltUp.”

Clunks and clicks

Seatbelt use is one of the simplest safety behaviours to establish during driving lessons.

However, the campaign is calling for instructors to ensure learners understand why the habit really matters when they begin driving alone.

The AA Trust’s next #BeltUp campaign follows its 2025 work with Basingstoke Town FC, which featured specially designed shirts incorporating seatbelt-style stripes and support from footballer Ian Wright.

The Trust says details of the next phase will be revealed shortly, to reach young people in environments and through messages that go beyond traditional road-safety campaigns.

With almost a quarter of car occupants killed still recorded as unbelted, and the proportion significantly higher among younger people, the latest figures suggest that belt-wearing remains a road-safety success story with an important unfinished chapter.