Seat Belt Safety, Seat Belt Laws

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Seat Belt Safety, Seat Belt Laws

Seat Belts

NSC HOME > Safety on the Road > Driver Safety > Seat Belts

Seat Belts

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Seat belts save lives. While seat belt use has been increasing and averages 88 percent nationally, there are still groups less likely to wear seat belts: teens, commercial drivers, males in rural areas, pick-up truck drivers, people driving at night, and people who have been drinking. Resources here include data, effective prevention, and links to national and state organizations working on this issue.

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Seat Belts: Your Single Most Effective Safety Step

Seat belts are the single most effective traffic safety device for preventing death and injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of crash injuries by 50 percent. They save lives:

Seat belts saved more than 75,000 lives from 2004 to 2008.
Forty-two percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2007 were unbelted. A 2009 NHTSA study estimates more than 1,600 lives could be saved and 22,000 injuries prevented if seat belt use was 90 percent in every state.

The good news is, in 2009, seat belt use averaged 88 percent nationally, compared with 69 percent in 1998. NHTSA attributes this increase to the "Click It or Ticket" campaign, originally created by the National Safety Council as part of its Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign.

Nationwide, seat belt use is higher than ever. Yet seat belt use remains lowest among young drivers. NHTSA also reports that, in 2007:

Seat belt use was lower among blacks than any other race.
Seat belt use was higher among females than males.
Seat belt use was lower among drivers who drove alone than drivers with passengers.

State Seat Belt Laws

Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have mandatory seat belt laws (the exception is New Hampshire). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a state-by-state map of seat belt laws.

Primary and Secondary Enforcement

Seat belt use is 13 percent higher in states with primary enforcement (88 percent) than in states with secondary enforcement (75 percent).

31 states plus the District of Columbia have primary enforcement of seat belt laws, meaning police can stop vehicles and write citations for failure to buckle up.
18 states have secondary enforcement, meaning police can issue a seat belt citation only after a vehicle is stopped for another reason.

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Journal of Safety Research Special Issue

Proceedings from a Symposium on High Visibility Enforcement - Building Sustained Safety Belt Use

Volume 35, Issue 2, Pages 131-244 (2004)

Get Abstracts and PDF Articles

Table of Contents:

The role of enforcement programs in increasing seat belt use

Documenting the sustainability of a mature Click It or Ticket program: The North Carolina experience

Effectiveness of primary enforcement safety belt laws and enhanced enforcement of safety belt laws: A summary of the Guide to Community Preventive Services systematic reviews

Taking the Click It or Ticket model nationwide

The effect of earned and paid media strategies in high visibility enforcement campaigns

Ninety five percent: An evaluation of law, policy, and programs to promote seat belt use in Washington state

Occupant restraint use in Canada

A research agenda for increasing safety belt use in the United States

Recent estimates of safety belt use

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SEAT BELT PROGRAMS AND RESOURCES

NHTSA Occupant Protection

NHTSA Click It or Ticket Campaign Headquarters

Safercar.gov

Governors Highway Safety Association State Laws See current state laws on seat belts, including primary and secondary laws and fine levels.

NSC RESOURCES

Primary and Secondary Enforcement State List

Seat Belts: Who's Wearing Them?

How to Wear a Seat Belt

Encouraging Seat Belt Use

Airbags

Buckle Up Poster

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NSC Research & Statistical Services -- Injury Facts® is a complete reference source for safety statistics. Includes seat belt data.

MORE STATISTICS

NHTSA Seat Belt Use in 2009 Seat belt use rates in the states and territories.

NHTSA Fatal Analysis Reporting System National database providing annual data on motor vehicle crash fatal injuries.

NHTSA Traffic Safety Fact Sheets Reports include annual results of seat belt use from the National Occupant Protection Use Surveys (NOPUS).

CDC National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Statistics Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS), death and injury charts, and more.

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EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES

Countermeasures That Work is a reference guide published by GHSA to share effective, science-based countermeasures for major highway safety problem areas. See the Seat Belt Use and Child Restraints section.

The Community Guide is compiled by the CDC to share effectiveness ratings for common prevention strategies. Discover what works and what doesn't. Visit the Use of Safety Belts section.

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