Safety belt use among African Americans rose to 77%, a sizable 8-point gain over their use two years ago. More than a quarter of Blacks who were not using belts in 2000 used them in 2002. These results are from the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which is the only probability-based observational survey of safety belt use in the United States. The survey also found: The belt gender gap appears to be narrowing. Males registered a 5-point gain, which reduced the gap from 10 to 7 points. Males now use belts 72% of the time, while females use 79% of the time; · Belt use has increased dramatically among older children, with 82% of 8-15year-olds now using belts; Belt use has increased in rural areas. NOPUS is conducted periodically by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA) in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The data in this note were collected between June 3, 2002 and June 22, 2002, during which approximately 38,000 drivers and 12,000 passengers were observed at 1,141 randomly selected road sites. This note supplements the 2002 NOPUS data reported in NHTSA Technical Report DOT HS 809 500, which contains results on belt use by such characteristics as time of day and type of belt enforcement law. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting