Road Fatalities and Seat Belt Use
Keywords
Road, Fatal, Seatbelt, STATS19, Collision, Death, Worn, Driver, Passenger, Occupant, Vehicle, Car, Crash, Accident, Traffic
Publication number
PUB 1115
Publication statement
Please note that this information is correct as at 01/02/2021 and may be subject to change. Essex Police aim to review and update this publication annually
As with all publications of information by Essex Police, please note caveats may apply regarding the accuracy of data.
Title
Road Fatalities and Seat Belt Use
Date range
January 2016 to December 2020
Background information
This data is a count of fatal collision investigations for collisions which meet the criteria for recording under STATS19. This means the deaths had to be the result of a collision involving one or more vehicle on the public highway, reported to Police within 30 days of occurring, and for casualties who died within 30 days of the collision as a result of injuries sustained in the collision, excluding confirmed suicides.
Differences between the first two columns is due to the first column being a count of fatal collisions and the second showing a count of fatal casualties. The number of casualties will always be the same or more as the number of collisions, as some collisions result in multiple casualties.
Police investigators may have investigated other deaths on the road during this period which were not recorded under STATS19 reporting.
The ‘seatbelt status’ field in STATS19 is only reportable for car occupants.
All data in STATS19 is recorded before forensic investigations have been completed. Therefore, seatbelt status only reflects the professional opinion of the investigating officer at the scene of the collision and in some cases their initial conversations with witnesses.
Related documents/links
National Statistics
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/road-accidents-and-safety-statistics
Current Essex Police publications
Procedure - Road traffic collisions investigations
Procedure - Road traffic collisions recording
Links to outside organisation websites
https://www.gov.uk/seat-belts-law
https://www.think.gov.uk/road-safety-laws/
FOI publication
2016
STATS19 Fatal investigations 59
Fatalities 64
Car occupant fatalities (seatbelt status applicable) 34
Seatbelt status
Unknown 19
Not Worn 7
Worn - Confirmed 5
Worn - Unconfirmed 3
2017
STATS19 Fatal investigations 45
Fatalities 46
Car occupant fatalities (seatbelt status applicable) 23
Seatbelt status
Unknown 9
Not Worn 5
Worn - Confirmed 6
Worn - Unconfirmed 3
2018
STATS19 Fatal investigations 46
Fatalities 47
Car occupant fatalities (seatbelt status applicable) 22
Seatbelt status
Unknown 10
Not Worn 4
Worn - Confirmed 5
Worn - Unconfirmed 3
2019
STATS19 Fatal investigations 40
Fatalities 42
Car occupant fatalities (seatbelt status applicable) 18
Seatbelt status
Unknown 7
Not Worn 2
Worn - Confirmed 7
Worn - Unconfirmed 2
2020*
STATS19 Fatal investigations 47
Fatalities 48
Car occupant fatalities (seatbelt status applicable) 22
Seatbelt status
Unknown 11
Not Worn 3
Worn - Confirmed 5
Worn - Unconfirmed 3
* 2020 data unconfirmed as of 01/02/2021, confirmed data expected to be available from 01/06/2021