It should come as no surprise that seatbelts save lives, which is why the state law requires everyone in a vehicle to wear one. During 2021, there were 1,422 total fatalities of drivers or occupants who wore a seatbelt and 1,236 fatalities among those who did not have a seatbelt on at the time of the collision.
However, it is hard to draw conclusions based on these numbers alone. Even though more fatalities happened to those who were restrained, there were far more collisions amongst that particular group, so the numbers are skewed higher. Most people do wear their seatbelts, and those who do not are much more likely to sustain a fatal or serious injury collision.