More than one in seven drivers regularly see other road users not wearing their seatbelt on motorways, the AA Charitable Trust has revealed.

Drivers and passengers can be fined up to £500 for not buckling up

Some 15% of respondents reported seeing another driver not wearing a seatbelt, whilst 14% said they’d noticed passengers travelling unbelted on motorways.

The AA Trust warned that too many drivers and passengers are underestimating the importance of wearing seatbelts, which can prevent injuries and save lives. Seatbelts are proven to reduce the risk of death in a crash by around 50%, making their use a critical component of road safety.

A campaign launched by the AA Trust in January also revealed that one-third (29%) of young drivers (17-29) who die in car crashes on all roads are not belted. Of these, 95% of these are male.

Government statistics further emphasise the severity of the issue; around a quarter (24.6%) of all car occupants who were killed in 2023 were not wearing seatbelts, up from a fifth (21.0%) in 2022.

Furthermore, Department for Transport data shows the rate of seatbelt non-wearing fatalities on all road types for car occupants is highest for rear seat passengers (40%). Weekends also show the highest rates of non-seatbelt wearing among car fatalities (28% Saturday; 30% Sunday).

The AA Charitable Trust is calling for stronger penalties on seatbelt misuse. Current legislation requiring occupants to wear seatbelts, which came into force on 31 January 1983, means a driver or passenger can be fined up to £500 for not buckling up. Drivers are also responsible for making sure that children use a proper car seat until they’re 12 years old or 135cm tall.

Ahead of the arrival of the UK’s first road safety strategy for over a decade, the AA Trust is also calling for a comprehensive approach that includes increased police patrols and public education campaigns to address low seatbelt wearing rates.

Edmund King, director of the UK charity, said: “The fact that one in seven drivers are regularly spotting other drivers and passengers not belting up on the motorway is shuddering and only highlights the desperate need to strengthen and enforce seatbelt laws.

“Road safety is a shared responsibility, and wearing a seatbelt is a crucial step in protecting yourself and others on the road. It is worrying that a three-second task is being avoided by a growing number of car users. Many things should be second nature, yet for some reason, not wearing a seatbelt is becoming an unwelcome trend.”

He added: “As well as better enforcement, we need to give courage to people to call out their mates when they get in their car and refuse to belt up.”