Younger drivers ‘not belting up’

A new survey has highlighted a ‘stark contrast’ between the percentage of younger and older drivers who always wear a seat belt.

The survey of 2,004 drivers was carried out by road safety charity Brake in partnership with Direct Line and Green Flag. It asked participants ‘Do you ever make a journey in a car without wearing a seat belt?’.

Of those aged between 25-34 years, 38% admitted to not always wearing a seat belt.

For respondents aged between 18-24 years, the figure was 29% – and among 25-44 year-olds it was 26%.

At the other end of the age scale, just 4% of drivers aged 55 years or above, and 6% of those aged between 45-54 years, said they do not always belt up.

Brake says wearing a seat belt is the “most basic and vital vehicle safety feature of all”.

Jason Wakeford, head of campaigns at Brake, said: “Safety features on new cars, such as advanced emergency braking systems, and systems that keep vehicles under speed limits, are life-savers. 

“It is tragic that despite these major technological advances, it remains the case that people continue to die or be catastrophically injured because some of us are still not using the most basic and vital vehicle safety feature of all – seat belts.”

The survey has been published to support Brake’s new Roadmap to Safe and Healthy Journey project – an online resource that enables people to learn about, and commit to making, safe and healthy journey choices – including always wearing a seat belt.

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