Reported road casualties Great Britain: fatal 4 - seatbelt factsheet, 2023
Updated 28 November 2024
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About this release
This factsheet gives an overview and key statistics on fatalities related to the seatbelt use component of the fatal 4 in Great Britain as reported by or to the police from 2014 onwards. Details on the fatal 4 can be found in the overall fatal 4 factsheets
The results presented in this factsheet are based on the record of seatbelt use collected by STATS19. Seatbelt use is only mandatory for cars in fatal collisions.
1. Main findings
This factsheet illustrates the rates and trends in seatbelt use for car fatalities, based on data to 2023. The figures, based on car fatalities where seatbelt use was recorded, show that 25% were not wearing seatbelts during the collisions.
This analysis show that the percent of seatbelt non-wearing fatalities:
-
was fairly stable from month to month
-
increased during the weekends
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was highest for the period between 10pm and 4am
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mostly involved male drivers and those aged between 35 and 44
2. Things you need to know
Information about data sources, strengths and limitations can be found in the overall fatal 4 factsheets
The recording of seatbelt use is only mandatory for car occupant fatalities, therfore all data in this factsheet is solely based on car occupant fatalities.
Seatbelt use is recorded by STATS 19 as worn and independently confirmed, worn but not independently confirmed, not worn, not applicable and unknown. For this factsheet seatbelt use is categorised as wearing and non-wearing. Wearing category includes the “worn and independently confirmed” and “worn but not independently confirmed” categories. The unknown and not applicable categories were merged into one “unknown” category.
As the number of fatalities each year is relatively small, in the following sections we have often grouped the latest 5 years of data to show patterns more clearly.
3. Overall summary
There was 43% of car occupant fatalities with unknown seatbelt use for 2023. The statistics in this factsheet involve only car occupant fatalities with known seatbelt use.
Table 1 shows that out of the 410 car occupant fatalities with known seatbelt use, 25% were recorded as not wearing a seatbelt.
Table 1: Number and percent of reported fatalities by seatbelt use, Great Britain: 2023
| Seatbelt use | No of casualties | Percent of casualties (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Worn and independently confirmed | 170 | 41.5 |
| Worn but not independently confirmed | 139 | 33.9 |
| Not worn | 101 | 24.6 |
| Total | 410 | 100.0 |
4. Fatality circumstances
In this section, trends in the rate of seatbelt use for car occupant fatalities with known seatbelt use (wearing or non-wearing) are presented.
4.1 Trends
Chart 1 shows that there has been little change in the percentage of car occupant fatalities recorded as not wearing a seatbelt over the last 10 years.
Chart 1: Percentage of car occupant fatalities not wearing a seatbelt, Great Britain: 2014 to 2023
4.2 Monthly breakdown
Chart 2 shows that the majority of fatalities were wearing seatbelts through the year. There is little change in the rate of non-wearing between months. The only exception to this is September where a higher rate of non-use can be seen.
Chart 2: Car occupant fatalities by month and seatbelt wearing status, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Month | Seatbelt wearing | Seatbelt non-wearing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 76.6% | 23.4% | 100% |
| February | 74.5% | 25.5% | 100% |
| March | 74.4% | 25.6% | 100% |
| April | 71.7% | 28.3% | 100% |
| May | 76.4% | 23.6% | 100% |
| June | 80.6% | 19.4% | 100% |
| July | 73.9% | 26.1% | 100% |
| August | 86.7% | 13.3% | 100% |
| September | 68.2% | 31.8% | 100% |
| October | 73.3% | 26.7% | 100% |
| November | 73.1% | 26.9% | 100% |
| December | 78.5% | 21.5% | 100% |
4.3 Day of the week
Chart 3 shows that the rate of seatbelt non-wearing was highest during the weekend.
Chart 3: Car occupant fatalities by day of week and seatbelt wearing status, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Day | Seatbelt wearing | Seatbelt non-wearing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 76.5% | 23.5% | 100% |
| Tuesday | 77.0% | 23.0% | 100% |
| Wednesday | 76.3% | 23.7% | 100% |
| Thursday | 81.6% | 18.4% | 100% |
| Friday | 79.0% | 21.0% | 100% |
| Saturday | 71.7% | 28.3% | 100% |
| Sunday | 70.3% | 29.7% | 100% |
4.4 Hour of day
Chart 4 shows that the percent of non-wearing increases substantially between 6pm and 6am. Between 10pm and 4am around 50% of car occupant fatalities are recorded as not wearing a seatbelt.
Chart 4: Percentage of car occupant fatalities not wearing a seatbelt by hour of day, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
4.5 Fatality age
Chart 5 shows that the highest percent of seatbelt non-wearing fatalities was for fatalities aged 35 to 44. Overall the rate of seatbelt non-wearing is generally higher for fatalities aged between 17 and 44.
Chart 5: Percentage of car occupant fatalities not wearing a seatbelt by fatality age, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Agegroup | Percent |
|---|---|
| 0 to 16 | 14.0% |
| 17 to 24 | 34.0% |
| 25 to 34 | 34.6% |
| 35 to 44 | 37.1% |
| 45 to 54 | 27.9% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.9% |
| 65 to 74 | 11.2% |
| 75 to 84 | 11.7% |
| 85+ | 6.8% |
| All ages | 24.1% |
4.6 Fatality sex
Chart 6 shows that the rate of seatbelt non-use is higher for male fatalities than for female fatalities.
Chart 6: Car occupant fatalities by fatality sex and seatbelt wearing status, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Sex | Seatbelt wearing | Seatbelt non-wearing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 86.1% | 13.9% | 100% |
| Male | 70.7% | 29.3% | 100% |
4.7 Fatality seating position
In this section, any fatalites where the seating position is not recorded are excluded from the analysis.
The rate of seatbelt non-wearing fatalities was highest for rear seat passengers. The rate of seatbelt non-wearing is similar for drivers and front seat passengers.
Chart 7: Car occupant fatalities by fatality seating position and seatbelt wearing status, Great Britain: 2019 to 2023
| Seating position | Seatbelt wearing | Seatbelt non-wearing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | 76.9% | 23.1% | 100% |
| Front seat passenger | 81.3% | 18.7% | 100% |
| Rear seat passenger | 60.3% | 39.7% | 100% |
5. Background
5.1 Strengths and limitations
STATS19 data provides a long time series of data, collected by the police using agreed guidance and specification.
As noted above, information on seatbelt wearing is currently only recorded for car occupant fatalities, with a relatively high degree of missing data. In addition, the police recording is likely to be based on information available within a short time of the collision, rather than a detailed forensic collision investigation.
However, information obtained from police by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety (PACTS) based on more in-depth investigation showed broadly similar figures. Further details are available in PACTS report.