Seat belt use in 2016 reached 90.1 percent, up from 88.5 percent in 2015; this was a statistically significant increase at the 0.05 level. This result is from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), 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 2000, accompanied by a steady decline in the percentage1 of unrestrained passenger vehicle (PV) occupants killed during the daytime. The 2016 survey also found the following: * Seat belt use for occupants in the West is higher than in the other regions, Northeast, Midwest, and South, in 2016 (Figure 2). *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 (Figure 3). *Seat belt use for occupants in rural areas increased significantly from 86.8 percent in 2015 to 89.5 percent in 2016*Seat Belt use for occupants of vans and SUVs increased significantly from 90.3 percent in 2015 to 92.3 percent in 2016. (Author/publisher)
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