Seatbelts

Always wear a seatbelt

Evidence shows that up to 300 lives would almost certainly have been saved in 2007 if all car occupants had been wearing a seatbelt. That's roughly one life a day.

The facts

Drivers and passengers aged 17-34 have the lowest seatbelt-wearing rates combined with the highest accident rate
In 2009, of the 1,059 car occupants killed in crashes, 21% were not wearing a seatbelt
There is evidence that people are less likely to use seatbelts on short or familiar journeys - this puts them at serious risk of injury in a crash

The law

Drivers and passengers who fail to wear seatbelts in the front and back of vehicles are breaking the law
Drivers caught without a seatbelt face on-the-spot fines of £60. If prosecuted, the maximum fine is £500

Wearing a seat belt and exemptionsOpens new window

THINK! Advice

Always wear a seatbelt. In a crash you’re twice as likely to die if you don’t.

Not wearing a seatbelt can be a fatal decision even on short, familiar journeys and at low speeds.

Wear your seatbelt correctly so it can offer you the best possible protection in a crash.

Crash Simulation

What happens if you don't belt-up? Experience the effects on screen so you never have to experience them on the road.

You will need Adobe Flash player to view the crash simulator.

Download the Flash Player from Adobe.com

If you have installed Flash Player and are unable to see the game try clicking the refresh key 'F5'.

How to use the Crash Simulator

Click on 01, 02, or 03 to choose your vehicle type
Click on ‘Number of passengers’ and select the people you want to put in your car
Click on ‘Seating of passengers’ and drag and drop your passengers into your chosen vehicle
Click ‘Safety of passengers’ and decide whether your passengers will belt up or not – click to highlight either the image with a seatbelt, or without
On ‘Speed of vehicle’, drag the speedometer to select your car’s speed
Select ‘Crash simulation’ and watch as your choices are run in the simulation
Now click on the people in the white outline image of the car – see what happened to each passenger
Drag the arrows at the top and bottom of the simulation screen to see an alternative outcome