Conditions and Performance Chapter Listing

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Safety Belt Use

The public's acceptance of safety belts and child safety seats represents one of the great success stories of government policy in past two decades. This resulted from a two-pronged effort of education and enforcement. Prompted by an intense public service campaign, surveys showed that 69 percent of vehicle occupants used seat belts by 1997. Additionally, 49 States had mandatory safety belt laws by 1997, and 13 States and the District of Columbia had primary enforcement laws that allow police to stop a car when they observe a safety belt violation. Safety belt use is 79 percent in those jurisdictions with primary enforcement, compared to 62 percent in the 36 States that only allow police to issue citations if a vehicle is stopped for another offense.

The 1995 National Personal Transportation Survey provides information about the frequency of safety belt use. Exhibit 5-7 shows that overall 73 percent of respondents said that they "always" wear a seat belt, but that those less likely to wear one are men, teenagers, and respondents with a high school education or lower.

Exhibit 5-7. Frequency of Safety Belt Use by Selected Variables, 1995