Official Statistics

Seatbelt and mobile phone use surveys: 2021

Driver mobile phone use and seatbelt wearing rates for 2021 (updating previous figures covering 2017).

Documents

Seatbelt and mobile phone use data tables

Seatbelt and mobile phone use methodology report

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Seatbelt and mobile phone use comparison of survey methods

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Details

This publication presents information about the proportion of drivers observed using a hand-held mobile phone and the proportion of drivers and passengers wearing seatbelts whilst driving in Great Britain from a roadside observation survey commissioned jointly between Transport Scotland and Department for Transport.

In Great Britain in 2021, 1.0% of drivers were observed using a hand-held mobile phone whilst driving on weekdays, of which:

  • 0.6% were observed holding the phone to their ear
  • 0.4% holding the phone in their hand

For seatbelts, on weekdays in Great Britain:

  • 94.8% of drivers were observed using a seatbelt
  • 94.6% of front seat passengers were observed using a seatbelt
  • 91.5% of rear seat passengers were observed using a seatbelt

While seatbelt wearing rates remain high overall, the latest road casualty statistics for 2020 show that 23% of car occupant fatalities in reported road collisions were not wearing a seatbelt. This indicates that car occupants who do not wear a seatbelt are disproportionately likely to be killed in road collisions.

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Updates to this page

Published 28 July 2022

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