Traffic Safety Facts 2021 Data: Occupant Protection in Passenger Vehicles

Occupant protection discussed in this fact sheet includes seat belts, car seats for children under 5 years old, and frontal air bags in passenger vehicles. Passenger vehicles consist of passenger cars and light trucks (pickups, SUVs, and vans) with gross vehicle weight ratings (GVWRs) of 10,000 pounds or less. Vehicle occupants include drivers and passengers. Fifty percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in traffic crashes in 2021 were unrestrained (based on known restraint use). In traffic crashes in 2021, considering known driver restraint use by passenger vehicle type, 60 percent of pickup drivers who were killed were unrestrained, compared to 49 percent of SUV drivers, 47 percent of passenger car drivers, and 44 percent of van drivers. Sixty-one percent (based on known restraint use) of passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in the 25-to-34 age group in traffic crashes in 2021 were unrestrained — the highest percentage of all age groups in this report. In traffic crashes in 2021, among male fatalities with known restraint use, 54 percent were unrestrained; among female fatalities with known restraint use, 42 percent were unrestrained. In 2021 among passenger vehicle occupant traffic fatalities with known restraint use, 49 percent seated in the front row and 57 percent of those in the second row were unrestrained. Among passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in traffic crashes in 2021 with known restraint use, 43 percent were unrestrained during the day compared to 57 percent at night.

• Record URL:
  https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813449
• Corporate Authors:

  National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Publication Date: 2023-5

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: 16p
• Serial:
  • Traffic Safety Facts
  • Publisher: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Publication flags:

  Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Child restraint systems; Occupant protection devices; Seat belt use; Vehicle safety
• Subject Areas: Highways; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01883402
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: DOT HS 813 449
• Files: HSL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT
• Created Date: May 25 2023 1:31PM