Seat Belt Use in 2010—Use Rates in the States and Territories

In 2010, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 72.2% in New Hampshire to 97.6% in Hawaii and Washington. These results are from probability-based observational surveys conducted by 50 States, the District of Columbia, and U.S. Territories. These surveys are conducted in accordance with criteria established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to ensure reliable results. Compliance with the criteria is verified annually by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis. The 2010 State and Territory surveys also found the following: (1) Fifteen States and the District of Columbia achieved use rates of 90% or higher. These States include Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, Maryland, Texas, New Jersey, Nevada, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Alabama, and Delaware; (2) Jurisdictions with stronger seat belt enforcement laws continue to exhibit generally higher use rates than those with weaker laws. Kansas strengthened its seat belt law to a primary enforcement law, effective June 2010. This State saw a jump in use rate from 77.0% in 2009 to 81.8% in 2010; and (c) Seat belt use rates in the States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, other U.S. Territories, and nationwide from 2003 to 2010 are listed in a table in this brief statistical summary, which indicates the jurisdictions that had primary seat belt enforcement during the calendar year of the survey.

Language

  • English

Media Info

  • Media Type: Digital/other
  • Features: Tables;
  • Pagination: 2p
  • Serial:
  • Publication flags:

    Open Access (libre)

Subject/Index Terms

Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01353748
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Report/Paper Numbers: HS-811 493
  • Files: HSL, TRIS
  • Created Date: Oct 14 2011 4:17PM