The AA launches #BeltUp safety campaign
The AA has launched the next phase of its #BeltUp campaign as new data reveals that a third of young people killed in car crashes were not wearing seatbelts.
The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety & Environment found that 35.6% of car occupants aged 17–29 who were killed on the road between 2021 and 2025 were not wearing a seatbelt.
That compares with 24.6% of car occupant fatalities across all ages, meaning the proportion among 17–29-year-olds was around 45% higher than the average.
The figures have been released as The AA Trust prepares to launch the next phase of its #BeltUp campaign, specifically aimed at young people who still travel unbelted.
Edmund King OBE, director of The AA Charitable Trust for Road Safety, said: “More than one in three young people killed in cars were not wearing a seatbelt. Behind every statistic is a life cut short and families and friends left devastated. Yet in a crash you are twice as likely to die if you don’t wear a seatbelt.
“Seatbelts are the simplest and most effective safety measure. Clicking one into place takes seconds, yet too many young drivers and passengers are still taking unnecessary and fatal risks. Young male drivers are around four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured as older drivers. Not wearing a seatbelt stacks the odds even further against them.
“We need to challenge the idea that it is somehow OK not to belt up on a short journey in an urban area, in the back seat, or when travelling with mates. The laws of physics don’t change because you’re only going down the road.
“Our message to young drivers is simple: Don’t move until everyone is belted up. Click, Click Drive. And to passengers: look out for yourself and your mates. Wherever you sit, however short the journey, #BeltUp.”
Seatbelt fact file
- 14% of young drivers killed or seriously injured were unbelted
- Young male drivers aged 17–24 around four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured as drivers aged 25 and over
- Unbelted drivers on short trips are more than twice as likely to be killed or seriously injured than those unbelted on long trips
- Proportionately 75% more unbelted car occupants are killed in urban areas than those on rural roads.
