Young drivers told to belt up in the back

Young people – predominantly males – in Liverpool are being urged to ‘belt up in the back’, as new data highlights the number killed in car crashes not wearing their seatbelts.

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

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 after dark.

Provisional figures show that in 2024 across Merseyside there were 14 casualties killed or seriously injured who were not wearing their seatbelt at the time of the collision.

Six of those were vehicle drivers (43%) and eight were vehicle passengers (57%). Also six of the casualties were 17–29-year-olds (43) and eight were over the age of 30 years (57%).

Wearing a seatbelt reduces the risk of death by around 50%, meaning up to around one quarter of all young car passenger deaths could be avoided if all young passengers put their belts on.

To highlight the issue, Liverpool City Council is using assets from THINK!’s ‘CLICK’ campaign, which launched in 2024.

CLICK pulls on relatable, personal moments between friends to drive home the consequences of not wearing a seat belt. It acts as a reminder that something as simple as clicking your seat belt could save your life and that of your friends.

Cllr Dan Barrington, Liverpool City Council cabinet member for transport and connectivity, said: “It is an utter tragedy that young people are dying as passengers and drivers because they have failed to put their seatbelt on. 

“It’s such a quick and easy thing to do – and it could save your own life or the lives of the people around you.”

In 2024, Merseyside Police issued 3,066 tickets for drivers and or passengers not wearing their seat belt.

Inspector Gavin Dixon of Merseyside Police, Roads Policing Department, said: “Merseyside Police work really hard to try and encourage everyone to wear their seatbelts in all forms of transport.

“The figures speak for themselves; you are more likely to die in a collision if you don’t wear a seatbelt. As with mobile phone enforcement, we are constantly using new and innovative ways to catch people who choose not to wear their seatbelt and risk their own and their passengers’ lives.”