Seat Belts

Supporting Data: Seat Belt and Helmet Safety Advocacy Group Reports

According to seat belt advocacy groups like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, we are currently seeing the largest percent increase of seat belt usage in automobile history. Likewise, we are also seeing the nation's lowest rates of accidental death rate due to automobile accidents (Hansen, 2001). By the year 2005, a record-high eighty-two percent of all motorists reported wearing their seatbelts on a regular basis (ASSE, 2005). In nine states and territories, there was a reported ninety percent seatbelt usage rate amongst motorists (NSC, 2006). These advocacy groups attribute this high usage rate to the mandatory seatbelt laws that have been sweeping the nation over the last few years (ASSE, 2005).

In just one year, between 2004 and 2005, over ten percent of former non-seatbelt users began using seatbelts. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, one of the leading automobile-safety advocacy groups in the United States, claims that this increased seatbelt use has prevented over 500 deaths and 8,00 serious injuries.

Another national automobile-safety advocacy group, Child Health Alert, reports that although we are seeing a major increase in overall seatbelt usage in the U.S., there is still one population group that is lacking in proper preventative measures. Child Health Alert reports that motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children between the ages of four and eight. This is because children of this age and size are generally too large for car seats and too small for simply wearing seatbelts. The car booster seat, which puts a small child into the appropriate seating position for a seatbelt to become effective, is widely underused. This organization does report, however, that parents who wear seatbelts on a regular basis were more likely to place their children in booster seats (CHA, 2003).

Another safety issue that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration advocates for is the use of motorcycle helmets. According to the NHSTA (2005), helmets saved the lives of 14,492 motorcyclists between 1984 and 2003. With head injury being the leading cause of death in motorcycle accidents,