Press Coverage
September 3, 2003
Safety belt use jumps to record 79
percent
Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta has
announced that safety belt use in the United States has jumped
to 79 percent,
the highest level ever.
Safety belt used increased in every
region of the country, according to the National Occupant
Protection Use Survey
(NOPUS), which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) conducts annually. In 2002, the national rate was
75 percent.
"We should all be proud of the efforts
that went into this historic accomplishment," Secretary
Mineta said. "But,
make no mistake about it, our work is not done yet. ... We
will not be satisfied until everyone buckles up for every
trip."
The 2003 NOPUS was conducted in June, after
a massive Click It or Ticket mobilization in May. An almost
$25 million state
and national media campaign supplemented Click It or Ticket
enforcement. More than 12,000 law enforcement agencies in
all 50 states,
the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico conducted
safety belt checkpoints and other enforcement activities.
"This was a prodigious nationwide effort
with broad support and enthusiasm from national, state and
local governments
and the private sector," said NHTSA Administrator Jeffrey
Runge, M.D., speaking at the Governors Highway Safety Association‚s
annual meeting in New Orleans.
The increase in belt use means
that more than 1,000 lives will be saved each year that
the gains are sustained. In
addition, the costs to society are reduced by at least
$3.2 billion.
Other results from the 2003 NOPUS survey, which
is based on observations at 2,000 sites nationwide, include:
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