In 2009, 23,382 occupants of passenger vehicles (passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs) were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes, 69 percent of the 33,808 traffic fatalities reported for the year. Of the 23,382 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in 2009, restraint use was unknown for 1,730 (7%). Of the 21,652 passenger vehicle occupant fatalities for which restraint use was known, 11,512 (53%) were unrestrained. Seat belt use in 2009 reached 84 percent, a gain from 83 percent in 2008. 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 proportion of unrestrained passenger vehicle occupants killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes has decreased from 2000 to 2009. Among passenger vehicle occupants killed, when restraint use was known, the percentage of unrestrained decreased by 7 percentage points from 60 percent in 2000 to 53 percent in 2009. (Author/publisher)
Abstract