I. BUCKLE UP AMERICA and CLICK IT OR TICKET
–A WINNING COMBINATION

2004 Saw Continued Progress: Safety Belt Use Increased
And Additional Lives Were Saved

As in past years, the Buckle Up America (BUA) Campaign in 2004 made further progress in increasing safety belt and child safety seat use, and saving lives. Due in large part to concerted, coordinated nationwide efforts in the Click It or Ticket law enforcement Mobilization program, in 2004 the national safety belt use rate rose one percentage point to the historic benchmark of
80 percent–the highest level ever. Approximately five percent of safety belt non-users were converted to users from 2003 to 2004 (the conversion rate is the percentage reduction of safety belt non-use.)

The 80 percent daytime safety belt use rate will save around 15,200 lives and $50 billion in economic costs associated with traffic-related crashes, injuries and deaths each year.

With eight out of ten Americans wearing safety belts, a further reduction in the traffic fatality rate on the Nation's highways is expected for 2004. (That calculation will be available in late 2005.)
In 2003–when the safety belt use rate increased four percentage points to 79 percent–the Nation’s lowest traffic fatality rate was recorded since record keeping began in 1975. The 2003 traffic fatality rate was 1.48 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a dramatic reduction from 1975 when the rate was 3.35 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Additional Increases in Safety Belt Use Would Save Even More Lives and Dollars

Safety belts are approximately 50 percent effective in preventing fatalities in crashes in which motorists would otherwise die, so raising safety belt use saves lives. NHTSA estimates that safety belt use prevented about 15,200 deaths in 2004. Safety belt use prevents untold tragedy to American families and saves billions of dollars in medical expenses and lost productivity costs annually. If all passenger vehicle occupants over age four had used safety belts in 2004, NHTSA estimates that nearly 21,000 lives (that is, an additional 5,800 lives) could have been saved.

NHTSA estimates that for each percentage point increase in safety belt use, an additional
2.8 million people are buckled up, and about 270 lives are saved. Thus, NHTSA estimates that in 2004, the one-percentage point increase resulted in an additional 2.8 million people buckling up than in 2003, and 270 additional lives saved. NHTSA estimates that the increased use of safety belts in 2004 saved the Nation $900 million in crash-related costs.

80 Percent Safety Belt Usage Rate Yields Tangible Benefits

A record 80 percent of Americans wore their safety belts while driving or riding in their vehicles in 2004, according to the 2004 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), which provides the only probability-based observed data on safety belt use in the United States. The NOPUS is conducted annually by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA).

Safety belt use increased steadily from 71 percent in 2000 to 80 percent in 2004. This continued progress is attributable in large part to States that have passed and enforced primary safety belt laws.

As of January 1, 2005, 21 States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had primary safety belt laws. Tennessee upgraded its law to primary enforcement in 2004. Primary enforcement allows police officers to stop a motorist solely for not wearing a safety belt, just as other traffic laws are enforced. Twenty-eight States had secondary laws in effect in 2004, and New Hampshire has no adult safety belt law. Eighteen States, as well as Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, require all motorists ages 18 and older to use safety belts in all seating positions.

The 2004 survey also found the following:

• Statistically significant increases in safety belt use occurred on expressways and in suburban areas.
  
  
• Safety belt use is statistically lower in States with secondary belt enforcement laws than in States with primary laws (average rate of 73 percent in secondary law States, compared to 84 percent in primary law States), and is lower in rural areas (76 percent) than in urban or suburban areas (77 and 82 percent, respectively).

• Drivers who have passengers, particularly children, are more likely to be buckled than those who do not. Specifically, the survey found that 86 percent of drivers with at least one child passenger between the ages of 0 and 7 were belted, compared to 79 percent for other drivers. Eighty-three percent of drivers with at least one passenger were riding restrained, compared to 78 percent of drivers driving alone.
  
  
• Women continue to use safety belts more than men. In 2004, 83 percent of female motorists were using safety belts, compared to 77 percent of males.
  
  
• There continue to be no statistically significant differences in safety belt use among racial groups. In 2004, 80 percent of motorists characterized as White by roadside observers used safety belts, compared to 80 percent of those characterized by the observers as African American/Black, and 79 percent of the remaining motorists.

State Surveys Show Steady Progress

In 2004, safety belt use in the United States ranged from 63.2 percent use in Mississippi to 95.3 percent in Arizona. These results are from probability-based observational surveys conducted by 51 States and Territories in accordance with criteria established by NHTSA to ensure reliable results. Compliance with the criteria is verified annually by NHTSA’s National Center for Statistics and Analysis. (As noted on page three, New Hampshire has no adult safety belt law.)

The 2004 surveys also found that:

• Seven States and Territories achieved usage rates of 90 percent or higher: Arizona, Hawaii, Washington, Oregon, Michigan, California, and Puerto Rico.
  
  
• Arizona, Hawaii, Michigan, and Nevada exhibited the greatest improvement, each reducing belt non-use by 30 percent or more from 2003 to 2004.

Findings from 2004 NOPUS Regarding Child Restraint Use Are Mixed

The 2004 NOPUS found that 98 percent of infants and 93 percent of children ages 1-3 observed in passenger vehicles stopped at a stop sign or stoplight were restrained in some type of restraint, whether a rear or front facing safety seat, a booster seat, or a safety belt, essentially unchanged from the 2002 levels of 99 percent and 94 percent, respectively.

In contrast, only 73 percent of children ages 4 -7 were restrained, down from 83 percent in 2002. NHTSA is analyzing the study findings to determine the factors responsible for this unexpected decline, and will focus its resources and activities accordingly.

At the same time, however, in 2004, there was marked improvement in the positioning of child passengers ages 4-7 in the rear seat away from the possible harm of a front seat air bag. Eighty-six percent of these children were observed riding in the back seat in 2004, compared to only
71 percent in 2002. Older children continue to be in the front seat far too often, with 14 percent of children ages 4-7 observed in the front seat.

Among other activities, a 3-year NHTSA/Ad Council booster seat public service advertising campaign was launched during Child Passenger Safety Week in February 2004. The campaign includes radio ads, a television ad, a new Web site dedicated to booster seat use (www.boosterseat.gov), and materials designed for use in elementary school classrooms. The broadcast elements are available in Spanish and English. This is the first time that NHTSA’s longstanding occupant protection partnership with the Ad Council has been devoted to child passenger safety.