Abstract
A survey of seat belt use of drivers was conducted at a roadside in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada on January 30, 1986. A total of 1355 observations were made to obtain 390 matches for drivers who used seat belts and another 390 for drivers without seat belts. The findings indicate that: 1) females have higher wearing rates than males; 2) seat belt use correlates positively with the age of the driver and negatively with driving record (number of accidents and number of traffic violations); 3) seat belt usage is independent of socioeconomic status. In sum, seat belt users tend to be more careful people and are safer drivers.