Facts

• One in 10 drivers and front seat passengers, and four in 10 rear seat adults do not wear seatbelts 
• One in 10 child rear seat passengers do not use seatbelts or child restraints 
• About 10 front seat users are killed every year by unbelted rear seat passengers             

Seatbelts and the law

A decade of advertising preceded the introduction of a new law making the wearing of front seatbelts compulsory in 1982. Soon after the law came into effect there was 90 per cent wearing by car drivers and front seat passengers. These high rates of wearing in the front seats of cars have remained high. In 1991 when it became compulsory for adults to wear seatbelts in the back of a car, there was an immediate increase from 10 per cent to 40 per cent in observed rear seat belt wearing.

Lives lost

• Car occupants form 65% of all road casualties. 
• In 2003, 188,342 people were killed or injured while travelling in cars. Of these, 165,930 were drivers or front seat passengers.             

Not belting up

• Despite continued advertising about the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt, a core 7% of car drivers still fail to belt up. 
• Women (96%) are more conscientious than men (90%) at belting up in the front. 
• Around a third of adults don't bother to belt up in the back.             

The excuses

• The most common reason for not belting up is because people say they forget and one in six say they don't bother if they are only going a short distance. 
• A third of people say that belting up in the back doesn't occur to them and one in six say it's uncomfortable or they couldn't find the buckle. One in twenty don't buckle up in the back because they feel safer. 
• One in ten would be embarrassed to ask a friend to belt up if they were travelling as a passenger in their car.             

The Law

• Drivers and front seat passengers in cars must wear a seat belt, unless they have a medical exemption certificate. 
• Children under the age of 14, travelling in the rear of a car that has appropriate restraints, must belt up. 
• Adults travelling in the rear of a car must also use seat belts, if they are fitted. It is the responsibility of the adult passenger (not the driver) to ensure that they are using the seat belt.      

Child Seat Restraints      

Legislation relating to child seat restraints changed in 2006. For more information visit http://www.thinkroadsafety.gov.uk/campaigns/childcarseats/childcarseats.htm

Belt up every trip...