Study: Seatbelt Use at 85%, Highest Rate Ever
A recent study shows that we’re finally getting it – we are buckling up more than ever before. In fact, the numbers are at their all-time highest.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (anyone else wondering why they conducted a seat belt study?), 85 percent of adults say they use seat belts. Even though that’s up from 11 percent in 1982, at least one in every seven adults don’t wear their seatbelts while driving. It’s not known why people would still have issues about wearing their seatbelts car accidents are still the leading cause of death in the U.S. among people aged 5 to 34.
“A simple step that most drivers and passengers in the United States already take-buckling their seat belts-cuts in half the chance of being seriously injured or killed in a crash,” said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH. “Yet, about 1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death.”
When it comes to individual states and their seatbelt usage numbers, Oregon comes out ahead with a high of 94 percent, while North Dakota bottoms out the list with 59 percent.
More by Amy Tokic
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