• The Essex Casualty Reduction Board
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• > Seatbelt Facts

Some facts about seatbelts

• Despite continued advertising about the dangers of not wearing a seat belt, a core 7% of car drivers still fail to belt up.

• Women (96%) are more conscientious than men (90%) about belting up when sitting in front seats.

• Around a third of adults don't bother to belt up in back seats.

• The law making it compulsory to wear seat belts in front seats (introduced in 1983) is estimated to have saved 50,000 lives, 590,000 serious casualties and 1.5 million minor injuries.

• 50,000 lives saved equates to seven lives saved every day for the last 20 years.

• As many as 15 front seat occupants are killed annually by the impact of an unbelted rear seat passenger.

• The wearing rate for van drivers is currently 63%, and for their passengers just 55%. If the wearing rate in vans matched that for cars then more than 20 more lives would be saved annually.

• Seat belt wearing rates are higher in rural areas (93%) than in urban areas.