Background Three Pacific Coast States, Washington, California and Oregon ranked 1st, 2nd, and 4th in the nation in safety belt use rates during 2002. NHTSA would like to discover the ingredients that contribute to high belt use and, where possible, identify strategies that other States could employ to increase belt use. Some hypotheses include a strong, long-term commitment by police to enforce belt laws, high visibility of enforcement because traffic is concentrated in densely urbanized areas, accident-prone environment due to heavy traffic and high speeds on roadways that caution drivers to buckle up more.

Objectives Identify demographic, geographic, enforcement, public awareness, behavior, perception, and other factors that appear to increase belt use in California, Oregon, and Washington (and, possibly, in other places with high belt use, such as Arizona, Hawaii, Maryland, New Mexico, Puerto Rico, Utah or Vermont).

Proposed Approach Conduct interviews with enforcement personnel. Survey motorists in high belt-use States and compare their attitudes to motorists in States with lower levels of belt use (in the 50s, 60s, 70s). Replicate earlier surveys in some of the high belt-use States to identify what the differences are now compared to what they were when their rates were lower. Perform statistical analyses of demographic and geographic data in high belt use States and in comparison States to identify components that may contribute to belt use increase. The evaluation may require 2-3 years, depending on the extent of data collection.