Seat Belts Fact Sheet

On this Page

· How big is the problem?

· What is the impact of seat belt use?

· Who is least likely to wear a seat belt?

· What can be done to increase seat belt use among adults?

· Related Resources

· References

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death among those age 5-34 in the U.S.1 More than 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009.2 Adult seat belt use is the most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes.3 Yet millions of adults do not wear their seat belts on every trip.2

How big is the problem of crash-related injuries and death?

Motor vehicle crashes are a major public health problem.

· More than 2.3 million adult drivers and passengers were treated in emergency departments as the result of being injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2009.2

· The lifetime costs of crash-related deaths and injuries among drivers and passengers were $70 billion in 2005.4

· Young adults (18-24) have the highest crash-related injury rates of all adults.2

What is the impact of seat belt use?

· Seat belts reduce serious crash-related injuries and deaths by about 50%.5

· Air bags provide added protection but are not a substitute for seat belts. Air bags plus seat belts provide the greatest protection for adults.6

Who is least likely to wear a seat belt?

· Adults age 18-34 are less likely to wear seat belts than adults 35 or older. (CDC, 2010, unpublished data)

· Men are 10% less likely to wear seat belts than women. (CDC, 2010, unpublished data)

· Adults who live in rural areas are 10% less likely to wear seat belts (78% use) than adults who live in urban and suburban areas (87% use). (CDC, 2010, unpublished data)

· Seat belt use is lower in states with secondary enforcement seat belt laws or no seat belt laws (79%) compared to states with primary enforcement laws (88%).2

Primary Enforcement Laws Make a Difference

Primary enforcement seat belt laws make a big difference in getting more people to buckle up. A primary enforcement seat belt law means a police officer can pull someone over and issue a ticket to the driver just because someone in the vehicle is not wearing a seat belt. A secondary enforcement law only allows a police officer to issue a ticket for someone not wearing a seat belt if the driver has been pulled over for some other offense. In 2010, 19 states—where one out of four adult Americans live—did not have a primary law.2

What can be done to increase seat belt use among adults?

When it comes to increasing seat belt use, individuals, government, and health professionals can help promote safety.

States can:

· Pass a primary enforcement seat belt law.

· Make sure that seat belt laws apply to everyone in the car, not just those in the front seat.

· Ensure that fines for not wearing a seat belt are high enough to be effective.

· Make sure that police and state troopers enforce all seat belt laws.

· Support seat belt laws with visible police presence and awareness campaigns for the public.

· Educate the public to make seat belt use a social norm.

Health professionals can:

· Remind patients about the importance of seat belt use.

· Encourage patients to make wearing a seat belt a habit.

· Wear seat belts themselves and encourage their colleagues to do the same.

Parent and caregivers can:

· Use a seat belt on every trip, no matter how short. This sets a good example.

· Make sure children are properly buckled up in a seat belt, booster seat, or car seat, whichever is appropriate.

· Have all children age 12 and under sit in the back seat.

· Never seat a child in front of an air bag.

· Place children in the middle of the back seat when possible because it is the safest spot in the vehicle.

Everyone can:

· Use a seat belt on every trip, no matter how short.

· Encourage everyone in the car to buckle up, including those in the back seat.

CDC

Seat belts save lives. While seat belt use has been increasing and averages88 percentnationally, there are still groups less likely to wear seat belts: teens, commercial drivers, males in rural areas, pick-up truck drivers, people driving at night, and people who have been drinking. Resources here include data, effective prevention, and links to national and state organizations working on this issue.
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Seat Belts: Your Single Most Effective Safety Step
Seat belts are the single most effective traffic safety device for preventing death and injury, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Wearing a seat belt can reduce the risk of crash injuries by 50 percent.They savelives:
· Seat belts saved more than 75,000 lives from 2004 to 2008.
· Forty-two percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2007 were unbelted. A 2009 NHTSA studyestimates more than 1,600 lives could be saved and 22,000 injuries prevented if seat belt use was 90 percent in every state.
The good news is, in 2009, seat belt use averaged88 percent nationally, compared with 69 percent in 1998. NHTSA attributes this increase to the "Click It or Ticket" campaign, originally created by the National Safety Council as part of its Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign.
Nationwide, seat belt useis higher than ever. Yet seat belt use remains lowest among young drivers. NHTSA also reports that, in 2007:
· Seat belt use was lower among blacks than any other race.
· Seat belt use was higher among females than males.
· Seat belt use was lower among drivers who drove alone than drivers with passengers.
State Seat Belt Laws
Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia have mandatory seat belt laws (the exception is New Hampshire). The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has a state-by-state map of seat belt laws.
Primary and Secondary Enforcement
Seat belt use is 13 percent higher in states with primary enforcement (88 percent) than in states with secondary enforcement (75 percent).
· 31statesplus the District of Columbiahave primary enforcement of seat belt laws, meaning police can stop vehicles and write citations for failure to buckle up.
· 18states have secondary enforcement, meaning police can issue a seat belt citation only after a vehicle is stopped for another reason.
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Encouraging Seat Belt Use

Seat belts are your most effective form of protection in a crash. Yet, millions of Americans don’t always buckle up. The biggest offenders are:

Teenagers

Males

Truck drivers

Pickup truck drivers

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has identified some reasons why people do – and don’t -- wear seat belts. According to its Unconscious Motivators and Situational Safety Belt Use report, most people always wear seat belts. However, when people don’t wear seat belts, they are generally in situations where they feel safe and ignore the risks.

The report recommends a positive approach to encouraging everyone to wear a seat belt. Some suggestions include:

Wearing a seat belt helps you feel in control.

Wearing a seat belt because other people care about you and want you to be safe.

Modeling the behavior you expect of your children.

Wearing a seat belt to be a good passenger.

Asking your friends to wear their seat belts.

Information

Seat Belts: Who's Wearing Them?

When used, lap/shoulder safety belts reduce the risk of death to front-seat car passengers by 45 percent and reduce the risk of injury by 50 percent. For light truck occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of death by 60 percent and injury by 65 percent.

Seat belt use varies by type of vehicle. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that seat belts are used by:

86 percent of van and SUV occupants

84 percent of passenger car occupants

72 percent of pickup truck occupants

Teens and Seat Belts

In 2007, belt use was lowest among 16- to 24-year-olds (77 percent) and highest among those 70 and older (88 percent). Among 16- to 24-year-old drivers, overall belt use when driving alone was 79 percent, but dropped to 78 percent when all passengers were also 16 to 24 years old, compared with having at least one passenger not in that age group (83 percent).

Additional NHTSA Data

Belt use was higher in fast traffic (86 percent) than slow traffic (78 percent), and higher in heavy traffic (84 percent) than light traffic (82 percent).

Seat belt use was greater among females (86 percent) than males (79 percent).

Drivers with no passengers were generally less likely to use seat belts (82 percent) than those with at least one passenger (86 percent).

Rear-seat belt use was 74 percent. Rear-seat belt use was higher among occupants aged 8-15 years old (80 percent) and 70 and older (74 percent) than among those 16-24 years old (69 percent) and 25-69 years old (71 percent).

In the District of Columbia and the 18 states that required seat belt use in all seating positions, rear-seat belt use was 85 percent compared with 66 percent in states that required only front seat use.

Information and recommendations are compiled from sources believed to be reliable. The National Safety Council makes no guarantee as to and assumes no responsibility for the correctness, sufficiency or completeness of such information or recommendations. Other or additional safety measures may be required under particular circumstances. Last Revised: 04/09

How to Wear a Seat Belt

(For adults and children who are at least 8 years old.)

Lap Belt:

Be sure the belt is snug. Slack allows room for movement before or during the crash, increasing the risk of spinal cord or head injury.

Be sure the belt is flat. A twisted belt concentrates the stress on a small body area, increasing the likelihood of injury.

Sit with your seat back upright. If the seat is reclined, you can slide under the belt, strike the dashboard or front seat and increase the possibility of abdominal injuries.

Sit back deeply in the seat.

Shoulder Belt:

Be sure the belt is snug. Too much slack could result in facial and chest injuries.

Wear the belt over the shoulder, across the collarbone and diagonally across the chest.

Do not wear the belt under the arm. The collarbone is strong enough to distribute the crash forces, but the ribs are likely to break and puncture the lungs, heart, liver or spleen that lie beneath them.

Do not wear the belt in front of the face or neck.