Occupant protection

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that using lap and shoulder seat belts reduces the risk of:

• Front seat passenger car occupant deaths by 45%
• Front seat passenger car occupant moderate to critical injuries by 50%
• Front seat light truck occupant deaths by 60%
• Front seat light truck occupant moderate to critical injuries by 65%

The 2024 data show that seat belt use is at 91.2%, and unrestrained occupant deaths currently account for 48.4% of deaths.

Seat belt use estimates come from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), conducted annually by NHTSA. NOPUS includes the observation of drivers and right-front passengers of passenger vehicles with no commercial or governmental markings.

The youngest and oldest victims experience the smallest percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupant deaths; 35% of deaths among children aged 0 to 4 are unrestrained, while 26% of deaths among adults aged 75 and older are unrestrained. This compares sharply with the 21- to 24-year-old age group and the 25- to 34-year-old age group, which experience 60% unrestrained deaths.

The infographic below helps quantify the benefits of using seat belts/restraints and reveals the higher proportion of unrestrained deaths among males and of unrestrained deaths at night versus daytime.

Source: NSC analysis of NHTSA FARS data and National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (November, 2025).  Seat Belt Use in 2024 – Use Rates in the States and Territories (Traffic Safety Facts Crash Stats. Report No. DOT HS 813 766). Washington, DC: NHTSA.