Seat belt use in 2012 reached 86 percent, a significant increase from 84 percent in 2011. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which is the only survey that provides nationwide probability-based observed data on seat 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. Seat belt use has shown an increasing trend since 1994, accompanied by a steady decline in the percentage of unrestrained passenger vehicle (PV) occupant fatalities during daytime. The 2012 survey also found the following: * Seat belt use for occupants in the South increased significantly from 80 percent in 2011 to 85 percent in 2012, * Seat belt use continued to be higher in the States in which vehicle occupants can be pulled over solely for not using seat belts (“primary law States”) as compared with the States with weaker enforcement laws (“secondary law States”) or without seat belt laws, and * Seat belt use increased significantly in 2012 as compared to 2011 among drivers, right-front passengers, occupants in primary law States as well as in secondary law States, occupants travelling during weekdays, and across occupants of all vehicle types. (Author/publisher)
Abstract