3 In 4 UAE Backseat Passengers Don't Always Wear Seat Belts, New Study Reveals

Three in four UAE residents do not always wear seat belts when in the back seat of a car, even though most know it is important, a new survey has revealed. The findings highlight a critical gap between knowledge and behaviour that experts say represents the "single biggest opportunity" to reduce road fatalities in the country.

According to the survey of 1,010 UAE residents, commissioned by RoadSafetyUAE and Al Wathba Insurance and conducted in January 2026, only 24 per cent of backseat passengers said they always wear a seat belt.

While this marks an improvement from 11 per cent in 2017, it remains a concerning figure for a country where Abu Dhabi Police data shows that 60 per cent of road fatalities in the emirate are directly linked to non-use of seat belts. In 2024, the UAE recorded 384 road deaths, marking a 9 per cent rise on the previous year, according to Ministry of Interior data.

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The survey found that 95 per cent of respondents understood that seat belts protect drivers and front-seat passengers, a figure that dropped slightly to 82 per cent for rear-seat passengers. Yet in actual use, the numbers told a different story.

Eighty-six per cent of drivers said they "always" use their seat belts, matching the same figure for front-seat passengers. But for rear-seat passengers, that number plummeted to just 24 per cent, meaning more than three-quarters are not consistently buckling up in the back.

"The non-use of seat belts represents the biggest opportunity to reduce road fatalities in the UAE and around the world," said Thomas Edelmann, Managing Director of RoadSafetyUAE. "Despite the fact that public understanding of the protective powers of the seat belt is reasonably high, the usage figures are not where the law mandates them to be."

When asked about their reasons for not wearing seat belts, 55 per cent said they felt safe enough without one when sitting in the back. Another 27 per cent said they did not see the need for short trips.

"All stakeholders must focus on increasing seat belt wearing rates, as this is the single biggest opportunity we have to reduce fatalities on the UAE's roads," Edelmann added.

Since July 1, 2017, it has been mandatory for everyone in a vehicle to wear a seat belt. Yet the survey found that only 70 per cent of drivers said they "always" ask their passengers to buckle up, leaving nearly a third who do not consistently take that responsibility.

Muralikrishnan Raman, Chief Financial Officer of Al Wathba Insurance, said the research was part of the company's commitment to safer roads. "Our mission is to protect our customers and our ecosystem. We want to demonstrate in a credible and tangible manner how we at Al Wathba Insurance can contribute to safer roads and to better our society."

Dr Youssef El Hansali, CEO of Vitronic Middle East, said technology had a crucial role to play in improving compliance. "The enforcement of seatbelt laws plays a crucial role in promoting road safety awareness. To support this, VITRONIC has developed an automated seatbelt detection system that enhances safety while significantly reducing the manpower required by enforcement agencies."

The system uses artificial intelligence trained on real image data to detect violations with high precision.

Edelmann stressed that a combination of awareness, enforcement, and data was needed. "The focus must be on generating and publishing up-to-date figures about fatalities and injuries linked to non-wearing seat belts,” he said.“Strong awareness initiatives are needed, as well as ever-increasing enforcement efforts by means of sophisticated radar installations and utilising AI."

A second part of the survey, focusing on child seat ownership and usage, will be released in the coming weeks.

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