Last year, 35,092 people died on American roads, a 7.2 percent jump from 2014 and the first increase in crash deaths in five years. Pedestrian and motorcyclist deaths are up. SUV crash deaths are up. Pickup truck crash deaths are up.

It's not completely surprising, despite rapidly evolving safety tech. Thanks to the recession recovery and low gas prices, Americans are hitting the road more, especially riskier drivers, and they're more distracted than ever.

What is shocking is that 48 percent of those killed in passenger vehicles—nearly 10,000 people—weren’t wearing a restraint when they died. Who the hell doesn’t wear their seat belt these days? And how do you convince the holdouts to save their own lives and buckle up?

The Culprits

According to the latest National Highway Safety Administration numberscollected by observers who creep on real-live drivers, 88.5 percent of drivers and front seat riders buckle up. That leftover 11.5 percent are most likely to be young men living in rural areas (especially the Midwest), driving pickup trucks.

Why? “Some people dislike the government telling them what to do,” says Russ Rader, who heads up communications for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Refusing to buckle up can be a political statement. Some, like your horrible high school boyfriend, complain the things are uncomfortable, or that other methods keep them safe, or that they don’t want to get trapped with one on.

Some people can't click it for medical reasons. Others just forget, or have pseudo-rational rules about when belts are appropriate—not on short trips, not when it’s sunny out, not when they’re passengers, and so on. (Never mind that more than half of fatal crashes occur within five miles of home, and that unrestrained passengers not only die in crashes but become flesh-and-bone projectiles, taking buckled-in drivers out with them.)

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rightfully touts convincing Americans to wear seat belts as one of the greatest public health victories of the twentieth century—just 11 percent buckled up in 1981. The industry's attention has moved to more advanced tech, like electronic stability control, automatic braking, autopilot systems. But “seat belts are still the most effective way to reduce injuries and reduce fatalities in serious crashes,” says Ruth Shults, a senior epidemiologist who heads up the transportation safety team at the CDC. “They are still so important.” Every road death without a seat belt, she says, is “a real tragedy.”

Seat belts are still the most effective way to reduce injuries and reduce fatalities in serious crashes. Ruth Shults, epidemiologist

Fastening the Buckle

Experts almost universally agree that enforcement is the best way to get people to buckle up. Every state but New Hampshire requires adults in the front seats to wear safety belts. In 34 states, cops can pull over and cite drivers for belt-free motoring. In these states, 91.2 percent wore their seat belts in 2015. In the 15 states where you can only get ticketed if you're pulled over for something else, plus live-free-or-die New Hampshire, usage drops to 78.6 percent.

For those people who forget to strap in, an old technology might be the answer. In 1974, a House of Representatives rankled by government intrusion banned the feds from mandating ignition interlocks, which prevent cars from starting when the driver’s belt isn’t buckled. But a 2012 law that makes it legal to [require](file:///Users/amarsha1/Downloads/IgnitionInterlocks_811883.pdf) breathalyzer-triggered ignition interlocks for DWI offenders might open the door for wider implementation of the tech. GM already offers a feature that can refuse to turn on the car if front-seat passengers aren't buckled in. Meanwhile, many cars come with those irritating beeps that all but command drivers and front seat passengers to belt up.

But there are other strategies. A few decades ago, researchers noted that workplace interventions—like contests and classes—could get motorists and passengers into the idea of buckling up. A small 2015 study recommended teaching 'em young, by praising (or reminding) a learning driver every time she does (or doesn't) belt up.

“That’s the thing with habits,” says Laith Alattar, a behavioral psychologist who worked on the study while at the University of Michigan. “Once you make it, you don’t have to think about it. You eliminate the chance of forgetting.” The study concluded that older drivers who are trying to form the habit will need to be patient and easy on themselves—it’s not simple work.

Watch out, risk-loving young male pickup drivers of America. Science-powered habit formation techniques are coming for you.