The proportion of car occupants killed in crashes who were not wearing a seatbelt has reached the highest level on record, figures show.
Some 30% of people killed in cars on Britain’s roads last year were not wearing a seatbelt, according to data published by the Department for Transport (DfT).
That is up from 23% during the previous 12 months and represents the highest annual percentage in records dating back to 2013, when the figure was just 19%.
The AA said the ending of pandemic lockdowns may have partly sparked the rise.
Crash victims aged 17-29 were the most likely to be unrestrained in 2021, at 40%.
Some 34% of male fatalities of all ages were not wearing a seatbelt, compared with 20% of females.
Car occupants killed during journeys at night or early in the morning – between 6pm and 8am – were much more likely to be unrestrained (47%) than those who died in the daytime (22%).
Passengers killed were more likely to be unrestrained than drivers, at 37% and 28% respectively.
AA head of roads policy Jack Cousens said: “This is a dreadful jump in road deaths where wearing a seatbelt may well have been the difference between surviving or dying in a road crash.
There may need to be a road safety campaign to raise the danger once again. Clearly, the message is being forgotten— Jack Cousens, AA
“Release from pandemic lockdowns may have fuelled some of the surge, but the rate of death while not wearing a seatbelt was surging even before Covid.
“There may need to be a road safety campaign to raise the danger once again. Clearly, the message is being forgotten.”
A survey conducted in autumn last year suggested 95% of drivers and front seat passengers wore a seatbelt, compared with just 92% of rear seat passengers.
Drivers can be fined up to £500 if they are caught not wearing a seatbelt.
