This report examines the relationship between passenger vehicle driver seat belt use status (restrained or unrestrained) and the following factors: blood alcohol concentration (BAC), age group, previous driving while intoxicated (DWI) conviction, driver license status, estimated vehicle speed, number of vehicle occupants, driver sex, day of week, season, geographic region, State seat belt law status, time of day and rural/urban status. Using NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data from the years 2001 to 2010, the report estimates the relationship between driver seat belt use status and the above-listed factors with a logistic regression model. The factors most strongly associated with unrestrained driving are high BAC (greater than .15 g/dL), speeding, and the driver’s license status. High-BAC drivers’ odds of being unbelted were four times greater than drivers who had no alcohol. Speeding drivers had odds of unrestrained driving twice those of non-speeding drivers. Drivers with invalid licenses odds of unrestrained driving were 1.6 times those of drivers with valid licenses. (Author/publisher)
Abstract