Half of killed young car passengers in the UK were unbelted

Young people in the UK are being urged to ‘belt up in the back’ as new data highlight significant numbers killed in car crashes not wearing their seatbelts.

New analysis by The AA Charitable Trust shows almost half (43%) of young passengers (17-29) who die in car crashes are not belted.

The analysis also shows that 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 deaths happening in the night or evening.

New UK Department for Transport data show the rate of seatbelt non-wearing deathsfor car occupants is highest for rear seat passengers (40%). Weekends also show the highest rates of non-seatbelt wearing among car deaths (28% Saturday; 30% Sunday).

As drivers, the organisation also says young people are 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. 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 UK driving licences.