Seat belt statistics show high but uneven use in the United States. The available measures cover observed daytime behavior, fatal-crash populations, modeled safety estimates, enforcement research, and child restraint practices, so each figure needs its period and population stated clearly.
Key Seat Belt Statistics
The most broadly useful figures include:
- 91.6% of observed occupants used seat belts in the United States in 2022, according to the national daytime observational measure.
- National seat belt use rose 21 percentage points from 2000 through 2022 in the United States.
- Front-seat belt use was 92% for drivers and 90% for right-front passengers in 2025 in the United States.
- Seat belts were estimated to save 20,443 lives in 2019 in the United States.
- Passenger vehicle occupants represented about 27,242 of 45,404 crash deaths in 2021, or 60% of all crash deaths in the United States.
- Half of 26,325 fatally injured passenger vehicle occupants with known restraint use were unrestrained in 2021 in the United States.
- State and territory observed use ranged from 67.0% in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 96.5% in Oregon in 2022.
- Rear-seat belt use was 81.7% among passenger-vehicle occupants age 8 and older in 2022, compared with 91.6% in the front seat.
- Rear-seat use among adults ages 25–69 rose from 65.7% in 2021 to 76.0% in 2022 in the United States.
- Female front-seat occupants had 93.5% observed use and male occupants had 90.1% in 2022 among people age 8 and older.
- Front-seat use was 87% for people ages 16–24 in 2025, compared with 92% for people age 25 and older.
- Sixty percent of fatally injured pickup-truck drivers were unbelted in 2021 in the United States.
- Lap-and-shoulder belts reduce fatal-injury risk by an estimated 45% for front-seat car occupants in crash research.
- Belts reduce fatal-injury risk by an estimated 60% for front-seat SUV, van, and pickup occupants in crash research.
- An unbelted rear passenger behind a belted driver increases the driver’s estimated fatality risk by 137% in a frontal-crash study comparison.
- Overall restraint use was 89.8% among U.S. children under 13 in 2021, although that measure does not establish correct use.
- Appropriate restraint use was 73.2% among children ages 4–7 in 2021, up from 69.0% in 2019.
- Forty percent of 863 passenger-vehicle occupants under age 15 who died in 2021 were unrestrained in the United States.
Contents
- Key Seat Belt Statistics
- National Seat Belt Use Statistics and Long-Term Trends
- Seat Belt Use by State and Territory
- Front-Seat and Rear-Seat Belt Data
- Seat Belt Statistics by Age, Sex, Race and Vehicle
- Seat Belt Fatality, Ejection and Injury-Risk Statistics
- Child Restraint and Seat Belt Law Statistics
National Seat Belt Use Statistics and Long-Term Trends
The National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) is a probability-based daylight observational survey. Its national measure observes whether a shoulder belt crosses the body and does not reliably observe lap belts, so it should not be treated as a complete measure of every restraint behavior.
The NHTSA 2022 state-and-territory report records a 91.6% nationwide observed seat belt use rate in 2022. The same source reports a 21-percentage-point increase from 2000 to 2022, while the IIHS seat belt research summary places observed front-seat use at 14% in 1983 and 92% for drivers in 2025.
| Measure | Period | Result | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nationwide observed use | 2022 | 91.6% | U.S. occupants; NOPUS daytime observation |
| Increase in national use | 2000–2022 | 21 percentage points | U.S.; daytime national rate |
| Front-seat use | 1983 | 14% | Historical U.S. observation |
| Front-seat driver use | 2025 | 92% | U.S. observation |
| Front-seat right-front passenger use | 2025 | 90% | U.S. observation |
NHTSA estimated that seat belts saved 20,443 lives in 2019 and 457,578 lives cumulatively from 1968 through 2019. These are modeled estimates, not direct counts of individual lives attributed through a single observational survey.
In 2021, passenger vehicle occupants accounted for about 27,242 of 45,404 crash deaths, or 60%, according to the CDC seat belt overview. The NHTSA child-restraint and countermeasures page reports that half of 26,325 fatally injured passenger-vehicle occupants with known restraint use were unrestrained in 2021.
Seat Belt Use by State and Territory
State and territory observational surveys provide local context, but their methods differ from NOPUS. The NHTSA state-and-territory report specifically cautions that jurisdictional rates and the national NOPUS rate should not be averaged or treated as interchangeable.
| Jurisdiction | Observed use in 2022 |
|---|---|
| U.S. Virgin Islands | 67.0% |
| Massachusetts | 77.0% |
| Virginia | 75.6% |
| New Hampshire | 75.7% |
| Alabama | 92.7% |
| Washington | 93.9% |
| California | 95.3% |
| Iowa | 95.9% |
| Oregon | 96.5% |
Twenty-six states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands reached at least 90% observed use in 2022. The reported range—from 67.0% in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 96.5% in Oregon—shows why a national average can conceal substantial jurisdictional differences.
Front-Seat and Rear-Seat Belt Data
The NHTSA NOPUS controlled-intersection report measured front- and rear-seat use among passenger-vehicle occupants age 8 and older during daylight roadside observation. Front-seat use was 91.6% in 2022, while rear-seat use was 81.7%, a materially lower observed rate.
Among adults ages 25–69, the CDC seat belt page reports 92% front-seat use and 76% rear-seat use in 2022. NHTSA’s year-over-year comparison places rear-seat use for that age group at 65.7% in 2021 and 76.0% in 2022.
The same NOPUS report found that front-seat use among white occupants age 8 and older increased from 90.7% in 2021 to 92.6% in 2022. Among drivers whose passengers were all under age 8, observed belt use rose from 89.0% to 95.4% over the same period.
Rear-seat behavior matters in crash research as well as in observational surveys. The IIHS seat belt research reports that an unbelted rear passenger increases other occupants’ injury or death risk by an estimated 40%.
Seat Belt Statistics by Age, Sex, Race and Vehicle
The 2022 NOPUS results show differences within the observed front-seat population. These categories are observational classifications, and the report notes that race was subjectively classified by roadside observers.
| Observed group | Front-seat use | Period and population |
|---|---|---|
| Male occupants | 90.1% | 2022; age 8+ |
| Female occupants | 93.5% | 2022; age 8+ |
| Black occupants | 82.6% | 2022; age 8+ |
| White occupants | 92.6% | 2022; age 8+ |
| Other races | 92.1% | 2022; age 8+ |
NHTSA’s 2025 observations, summarized by IIHS, put front-seat use at 87% for occupants ages 16–24 and 92% for people age 25 and older. Female front-seat occupants recorded 94% use, compared with 89% for male occupants.
Vehicle type also appears in fatal-crash restraint data. In 2021, 60% of fatally injured pickup-truck drivers and 64% of fatally injured pickup-truck passengers were unbelted, according to NHTSA’s Click It or Ticket release.
These percentages describe people killed in crashes, not all pickup occupants or all trips.
Seat Belt Fatality, Ejection and Injury-Risk Statistics
Risk-reduction percentages in this section are research estimates summarized by IIHS, not direct predictions for every individual collision. They compare belt use with nonuse in defined crash populations.
| Occupant and restraint context | Estimated outcome |
|---|---|
| Front-seat car occupants using lap-and-shoulder belts | 45% lower fatal-injury risk |
| Front-seat car occupants using lap-and-shoulder belts | 50% lower moderate-to-critical injury risk |
| Front-seat SUV, van and pickup occupants using belts | 60% lower fatal-injury risk |
| Front-seat SUV, van and pickup occupants using belts | 65% lower moderate-to-critical injury risk |
| Center-rear occupants in cars using lap-and-shoulder belts | 58% lower fatal-injury risk |
| Center-rear occupants in SUVs, vans and pickups using lap-and-shoulder belts | 75% lower fatal-injury risk |
The same research estimates a 32% reduction in fatal-injury risk for rear outboard occupants age 5 and older in cars using lap-only belts. In a frontal-crash comparison, an unbelted rear passenger behind a belted driver increased the driver’s fatality risk by 137% versus a belted rear passenger.
Fatality records generally use known restraint-status records, and the fatality population is not the same as all road users. That distinction is essential when comparing use surveys with crash outcomes.
Child Restraint and Seat Belt Law Statistics
The NHTSA countermeasures source reports overall restraint use of 89.8% among children under 13 in 2021. By age, overall use was 99.8% for infants under 1 and 86.8% for children ages 8–12; overall restraint use does not establish correct installation, fit, or age-appropriate selection.
Appropriate restraint measures were more specific. In 2021, rear-facing-seat use among children under 1 was 91.8%; appropriate restraint use among ages 1–3 was 86.8%, up from 83.7% in 2019; forward-facing-seat or booster use among ages 4–7 was 73.2%, up from 69.0%; and appropriate restraint use among ages 8–12 was 85.8%, up from 85.0%.
Of 863 passenger-vehicle occupants under age 15 who died in 2021, 40% were unrestrained. This is a fatality-population statistic, not a measure of restraint use among all children.
In 2025, front-seat use was 92% in states with primary enforcement and 89% in other states, according to IIHS; the comparison is an association, not a causal estimate. A peer-reviewed study summarized by IIHS estimated that switching from secondary to primary enforcement reduced annual passenger-vehicle driver death rates by 7%, with a 95% confidence interval of 3.0%–10.9%, across 10 switcher states versus 14 comparison states.
That study also estimated that 696 deaths per year could have been prevented if remaining secondary laws had been amended. It was a 2005 counterfactual estimate, not a current forecast.
Enforcement research summarized by IIHS associated raising a seat-belt fine from $25 to $60 with a 3–4 percentage-point increase in belt use, and raising it from $25 to $100 with a 6–7 percentage-point increase. These are jurisdiction-level associations, not guaranteed effects in every state or community.