With the understanding that seat belts are a relatively low-cost safety device, and are an easy primary protection for occupants in passenger vehicles, North Dakota has chosen to continue to measure seat belt use on non-interstate rural roads. In 2001, 88% of fatal crashes occurred on rural roads. During the past five years, 9 of every 10 fatal crashes occurred on non-interstate rural roads (NDDOT 2012). Understanding tendencies and trends in seat belt use on these rural roads is essential to wise decisions regarding efforts to encourage seat belt use in the state. The U.S. Department of Transportation does work with states to measure seat belt use through the long-standing annual National Occupant Passenger Use Survey (NOPUS). (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting