Seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...

use rates in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

have been rising steadily since 1983, from 14% to 90% in 2016. Seat belt use in the country in 2016 ranged from a minimum of 70.2% in New Hampshire to a maximum of 96.9% in Georgia. 19 states had use rates above 90%. According to the

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rela ...

's (NHTSA) 2008 survey, seat belt use remained lower among 16- to 24-year-olds than other age groups, with a rate of 77%, and also was lower among

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

s than other races, with a use rate of 75%. The survey also found that seat belt use continued to be higher among females (86%) than males (79%). According to the NHTSA's 2013 survey, seat belt use in jurisdictions with stronger seatbelt enforcement laws continue to exhibit generally higher use rates than those with weaker laws.

Seat belt usage by year

The following list shows the national percentage of vehicle occupants using seat belts between 1983 and 2017: The only years in which the rate did not increase over the previous year were 1994 when usage fell by eight percent, 1996 when usage fell by seven percent, 2006 when usage fell by one percent, and 2017 when usage fell by four tenths of one percent.

Seat belt usage by state/territory

References

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External links

*U.S
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) Automotive safety Transportation in the United States Seat belts

Seat belt usage by year

Seat belt usage by state/territory

See also

References

External links