In June 2005, safety belt use in the U.S. reached 82 percent, the highest level yet recorded and a statistically significant increase over the 80 percent use rate from a year prior. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on safety belt use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted annually by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The 2005 survey also found the following: (1) The increase in use during 2004 - 2005 occurred in several areas, including two areas of focus of a national campaign by NHTSA and the States to increase safety belt use – pickup trucks and rural areas. Use increased by 3 percentage points in both of these categories. Other statistically significant increases occurred in cars, vans and sport utility vehicles (SUVs), weekday rush hour, and weekday nonrush hour, among other areas; and (2) the data continue to show that high use rates are attainable with safety belt use reaching an 85 percent milestone use rate in States with primary enforcement laws, as well as in vans and SUVs nationwide. (Author/publisher)
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