The number of drivers being pulled over for not wearing seatbelts is on the increase.

Nearly 180,000 fixed penalty notices were issued for seatbelt offences last year - a 17% increase on the figure for 2009.

The data was obtained by LV= car insurance from a Freedom of Information Act request, with the figures for 2009 and 2013 compiled from replies from 28 of the 45 police forces in England, Wales and Scotland.

LV= said that so far this year, more than 80,000 drivers had been stopped by police and had been charged a total of £8.2 million in fines for seatbelt offences.

The company also released details of a survey of 2,016 adults, including 1,578 drivers, which showed that:

• 6% of drivers do not wear a seatbelt when driving and 9% do not wear one when they are a front-seat passenger

• 47% of motorists were unaware they can be fined for not wearing a seatbelt

• 24% of drivers do not always wear a belt when sitting in the back

• 42% of drivers do not belt up when travelling by taxi

• Among those not wearing belts, older drivers said they were too restricting while younger ones said they sometimes did not comply on short journeys

A third of drivers aged 65 or more who did not wear seatbelts said they were afraid of getting stuck in the car if they had an accident.

But LV= said Government figures showed that 19% of people killed in car accidents last year were not wearing seatbelts. It added that of these, safety experts estimated that 50% would have survived if they had been restrained.

LV= car insurance managing director John O'Roarke said: "Wearing a seatbelt can drastically improve your chances of survival in an accident, even if it's just for a short journey.

"The research shows that too many people are still taking unnecessary risks when driving or travelling as a passenger. There is only so much you can do to prevent being in a car accident but wearing a seatbelt costs nothing and it may save your life one day."