Third of drivers killed aren't belting up

11 October 2010

More than a third of people killed in crashes are not wearing seatbelts, according to the AA’s latest report, Clunk Click.

The report shows that seatbelts more than halve the risk of death in a collision, and the 7% of drivers who choose not to wear them are over represented in fatalities.

It suggests the sort of driver that fails to belt-up is twice as likely to be involved in a crash as someone who wears a seatbelt.

The report says 300 lives would be saved each year if everyone wore a seatbelt. Despite this, only 69% of van, lorry, bus, coach and minibus drivers regularly wear them.

The most common offenders are:

• Men (especially young men)
• Rear seat passengers
• Company drivers

The AA says targeting car users who choose not to wear seatbelts could have other road safety benefits. It makes a number of recommendations, including:

• Government increasing the penalty for drivers not wearing seatbelts to include penalty points
• Police encouraged to carry out more spot-checks
• More police forces offering seatbelt awareness courses in place of fines
• Employers being stricter with professional drivers who do not belt up