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U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Announces Results of Seat Belt Study


American Government Topics:  Norman Y. Mineta

U.S. Transportation Secretary Mineta Announces Results of Seat Belt Study

NHTSA
February 14, 2001

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 10-01
Tuesday, February 13, 2001
Contact: Rae Tyson
Telephone: 202-366-9550

Use is Up but Varies by Region

While seat belt use was up slightly to 71 percent in 2000, a new study shows wide variations in use depending on vehicle type and the strength of state seat belt laws. There also were significant regional differences, with Western motorists registering the highest rate of seat belt use in the nation, according to the study by the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

A related NHTSA study found that three-point seat belts reduced fatalities by 45 percent in passenger car crashes and 60 percent in light truck crashes. Fatality reduction is as high as 80 percent in some types of crashes, such as rollovers involving vans, sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

"Seat belts are absolutely our most effective safety device," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta. "If everyone buckled up, thousands of lives could be saved annually."

The NHTSA study found that seat belt use increased from 67 percent in 1999 to a record high of 71 percent in 2000. Seat belt use has increased steadily since 1995 when the use rate was 58 percent. But NHTSA's National Occupational Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) found wide variations in 2000. The variations included the following:

  • Seat belt use in states with tougher standard (primary enforcement) laws averaged 77 percent while states with weaker secondary laws averaged 64 percent.

  • At 80 percent belt use, the West registered the highest regional average while the Northeast was lowest at 67 percent. Seat belt use in the Midwest was 68 percent while use in the South was 69 percent.

  • An average of 74 percent of car occupants used seat belts while pickup drivers and passengers averaged 59 percent. Together, occupants of vans and sport utility vehicles averaged 74 percent belt use. Overall, drivers were more likely to buckle up (72 percent) than passengers (68 percent).

  • The lowest rate of seat belt use in the nation was found among pickup occupants in the Northeast (45 percent) while car drivers and passengers in the West registered the highest (83 percent).

    This NHTSA seat belt survey has a margin of error of three percentage points.

    In addition to overall fatality reductions attributed to seat belts, a separate NHTSA occupant protection study found the following:

    Three-point seat belts are effective in almost all types of crashes. For example, they reduced fatalities by 60 percent in cars and 64 percent in light trucks when the vehicle struck a fixed object.

    In rollover crashes, seat belts are especially effective because 69 percent of all car fatalities and 78 percent of light truck deaths in these crashes involved ejection of the unbelted occupant from the vehicle.

    Additional information on both studies is available on the NHTSA web site at http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/.

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