TABLE: Stricter laws boost seat belt use

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May 19, 2003

Stricter laws boost seat belt use
Primary belt laws, which allow police officers to pull over motorists simply for not wearing a seat belt, have boosted belt usage in many states. In states with secondary laws, police can only issue seat-belt tickets after pulling people over for other offenses. Primary laws can boost belt usage by several percentage points. In some states — but far from all — increased belt usage is tied to lower fatalities. Many states also saw big increases in their belt usage between 2001-02, when federal regulators gave states money to advertise and enforce their laws. (Table courtesy USATODAY.com)
Fatality rank: The state with the lowest fatality rate is #1. Belt use rank: The state with the highest usage rate is #1.
State	Belt law	Vehicle occupants killed¹ (2001)	Fatality rate² (2001)	Fatality rate rank³ (2001)	Belt use (2001)	Belt use (2002)	Belt use rank (2002)
Alabama	Primary	919	1.62	36	79.4%	78.7%	17
Alaska	Secondary	78	1.65	39	62.6%	65.8%	41
Arizona	Secondary	853	1.68	40	74.4%	73.7%	25
Arkansas	Secondary	569	1.93	46	54.5%	63.7%	43
California	Primary	3,115	1.00	8	91.1%	91.1%	2
Colorado	Secondary	664	1.55	35	72.1%	73.2%	26
Connecticut	Primary	275	0.89	5	78.0%	78.0%	19
Delaware	Secondary	116	1.35	25	67.3%	71.2%	29
District of Columbia	Primary	55	1.47	30	83.6%	84.6%	8
Florida	Secondary	2,389	1.53	34	69.5%	75.1%	22
Georgia	Primary	1,445	1.34	24	79.0%	77.0%	20
Hawaii	Primary	103	1.18	18	82.5%	90.4%	3
Idaho	Secondary	245	1.74	43	60.4%	62.9%	45
Illinois	Secondary	1,199	1.16	15	71.4%	73.8%	24
Indiana	Primary	837	1.17	16	67.4%	72.2%	27
Iowa	Primary	424	1.41	27	80.9%	82.4%	12
Kansas	Secondary	465	1.65	38	60.8%	61.3%	48
Kentucky	Secondary	782	1.69	41	61.9%	62.0%	46
Louisiana	Primary	831	2.02	49	68.1%	68.6%	36
Maine	Secondary	174	1.21	20	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
Maryland	Primary	547	1.05	9	82.9%	85.6%	6
Massachusetts	Secondary	388	0.73	1	56.0%	51.0%	49
Michigan	Primary	1,135	1.15	14	82.3%	82.9%	10
Minnesota	Secondary	515	0.97	7	73.9%	80.1%	15
Mississippi	Secondary	717	1.99	48	61.6%	62.0%	46
Missouri	Secondary	1,009	1.49	33	67.9%	69.4%	35
Montana	Secondary	220	2.20	51	76.3%	78.4%	18
Nebraska	Secondary	227	1.25	22	70.2%	69.7%	34
Nevada	Secondary	263	1.44	29	74.5%	74.9%	23
New Hampshire	No adult law	131	1.06	11	n.a.	n.a.	n.a.
New Jersey	Primary	589	0.86	2	77.6%	80.5%	14
New Mexico	Primary	383	1.65	37	87.8%	87.6%	5
New York	Primary	1,157	0.89	4	80.3%	82.8%	11
North Carolina	Primary	1,355	1.48	31	82.7%	84.1%	9
North Dakota	Secondary	102	1.41	26	57.9%	63.4%	44
Ohio	Secondary	1,261	1.18	17	66.9%	70.3%	32
Oklahoma	Primary	621	1.43	28	67.9%	70.1%	33
Oregon	Primary	414	1.20	19	87.5%	88.2%	4
Pennsylvania	Secondary	1,322	1.28	23	70.5%	75.6%	21
Rhode Island	Secondary	69	0.86	3	63.2%	70.8%	30
South Carolina	Secondary	927	1.99	47	69.6%	66.3%	39
South Dakota	Secondary	154	1.80	45	63.3%	64.0%	42
Tennessee	Secondary	1,166	1.72	42	68.3%	66.7%	37
Texas	Primary	3,214	1.49	32	76.1%	81.1%	13
Utah	Secondary	256	1.09	12	77.8%	80.1%	15
Vermont	Secondary	87	0.90	6	67.4%	84.9%	7
Virginia	Secondary	820	1.11	13	72.3%	70.4%	31
Washington	Primary	566	1.05	10	82.6%	92.6%	1
West Virginia	Secondary	344	1.74	44	52.3%	71.6%	28
Wisconsin	Secondary	709	1.24	21	68.7%	66.1%	40
Wyoming	Secondary	180	2.09	50	n.a.	66.6%	38
1 — includes cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles and other vehicles; 2 — per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, 2001; 3 — rank based on more precise rate than shown; n.a. — not available from National Highway Transportation Safety Administration; Sources: NHTSA, National Safety Council

Last Modified: July 25, 2007