In 2010, 22,187 occupants of passenger vehicles (passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, and SUVs) died in motor vehicle traffic crashes. Of the 22,187 total occupants killed, 9,934 were restrained. Restraint use was not known for 1,706 occupants. Looking at only occupants where the restraint status was known 51% were unrestrained at the time of the crash. Seat belt use in 2010 reached 85 percent, up from 84 percent in 2009. 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 2001 to 2010. Among passenger vehicle occupants killed, when restraint use was known, the percentage of unrestrained deaths decreased by 8 percentage points from 59 percent in 2001 to 51 percent in 2010. (Author/publisher)
Abstract