Overview
There is a persistent and deeply concerning issue: despite being one of the most fundamental life-saving measures in road safety, seat belts were still not worn by a significant number of people involved in fatal collisions. Seat belts work by keeping occupants securely in place during a crash, reducing the risk of being thrown forward or ejected, and roughly halving the chance of death. Yet between 20% and 30% of all car occupants killed each year were not wearing a seat belt – that’s more than 150 deaths a year.
As the single most effective in-vehicle safety measure, their mandatory use, introduced over forty years ago, was a pivotal step towards safer roads. Yet, alarmingly, the proportion of car occupants who die while not wearing a seat belt has been rising.
PACTS has published detailed briefings, reports, and open letters, and has engaged with policymakers to stress the urgency of improving seat belt wearing rates to help prevent unnecessary deaths and serious injuries.
In January 2026 the UK Government recognised this issue within the Road Safety Strategy, and made proposals to strengthen the enforcement of seat belt use. PACTS supports these proposals and continues to advocate for their implementation.
PACTS and the seat belt journey
In 1981, following a series of parliamentary debates, an amendment to what became the 1981 Transport Act secured the mandatory use of seat belts in front seats. Barry Sheerman, then an MP for Huddersfield, played a key role.
The informal coalition of parliamentarians, road safety professionals, casualty surgeons, and academics who had rallied for this life-saving change quickly recognised the value of an ongoing, evidence-based voice in Parliament for transport safety. This led to the formal establishment of PACTS in 1982, which later became a registered charity.
Since then, PACTS has continued to provide independent, expert advice to both Houses of Parliament on transport safety policy. This includes the continued need for improving in-vehicle safety technology.
The importance of wearing a seat belt
Seat belts remain the foundation of occupant safety, even in vehicles equipped with modern technologies such as airbags and advanced driver-assistance systems.
Wearing a seat belt approximately halves the likelihood of a fatal outcome in a collision.
Key findings and the urgency to change
Many people are surprised to learn that not everyone wears a seat belt. While overall usage remains high, a significant number of road deaths still involve unbelted occupants. This is a clear reminder that seat belt use is not yet universal.
In 2023, 25% of car occupants who died in collisions in Great Britain, where seat belt status was known, were not wearing one. That is one in four fatalities. Non-wearing is especially common at night (particularly between 10pm and 4am), on weekends, and among male drivers aged 35 to 44. Rear seat passengers also remain consistently less likely to wear a seat belt than those in the front.
There is no cross-generational road safety memory. Hundreds of thousands of vehicle journeys take place across the UK every day with at least one occupant not properly restrained. Not wearing a seat belt is often not a one-off oversight, but a repeated and habitual behaviour.
Notable Publications and Interventions
The policy gap
Unlike other so-called “Fatal Four” offences such as speeding, drink or drug driving, and mobile phone use, failure to wear a seat belt currently does not result in penalty points on a driving licence in Great Britain. It is typically met with a fixed penalty fine only.
The 2026 National Road Safety Strategy acknowledges this gap and includes proposals to make non-wearing of a seat belt an endorsable offence, with penalty points. A consultation on these changes, along with a wider review of road traffic offences, is currently with the Government for response
In Northern Ireland, where penalty points for non-use were introduced in 2007, has seen seat belt wearing rates improve. This is a clear indicator that stronger penalties and enforcement can lead to behaviour change and save lives.
Through its work on Department for Transport seat belt surveys, as well as operational deployments with 19 UK police forces, Acusensus has witnessed the scale of the issue first hand. Their camera technology provides evidence of the number of drivers and passengers who continue to take risks by not wearing seat belts or by wearing them incorrectly. These individuals are disproportionately represented in fatality statistics.
The most effective life-saving action when driving remains wearing a seat belt and wearing it correctly. As with any habit, this behaviour can be learned or neglected. Roadside detection offers one solution, by automatically identifying unrestrained or incorrectly restrained occupants. Public awareness that detection is possible, combined with education about the dangers in a collision, can help shift behaviours.
Enforcement will be further strengthened if failure to wear a seat belt becomes an endorsable offence with penalty points.
PACTS strongly supports the introduction of penalty points as a necessary and evidence-based measure to improve compliance and reduce preventable deaths.
“The toll associated with unbelted journeys on UK roads is alarmingly clear. It is a persistent, preventable risk with profound human and societal costs. We must make every effort to change poor driving behaviours, which will prevent suffering and save lives.”
Geoff Collins, Acusensus
A comprehensive package of actions
A way forward
More than forty years since seat belts became mandatory, it is clear the job is not done. Too many lives are still being lost because people are not buckling up. The data is stark, but we know what works.
PACTS is calling on the Government to take clear, practical steps: introduce penalty points for not wearing a seat belt, roll out camera-based enforcement, strengthen roads policing, and refresh public education to reflect today’s challenges. With action now, we can reverse the rise in unbelted deaths and injuries.
The inclusion of these measures within the National Road Safety Strategy marks an important step forward. PACTS encourages the Government to move swiftly from consultation to implementation.
This is not just a policy ambition – it is an active priority. PACTS continues to work with government, police, health experts, and technology providers to make seat belt compliance the norm on every journey.
