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State Safety Belt Use Falls Among Young Adults in Michigan

20 December 1999

Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning: State Safety Belt Use Falls Among Young Adults

    LANSING, Mich., Dec. 20 -- State safety belt use fell in a
critical area in 1999, most notably among young adults, announced the Michigan
Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP).
    Results of the annual survey, conducted by the University of Michigan
Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), revealed that belt use rates for
the 16-29-year-old age group fell significantly, from 63.6 percent in 1998 to
57.4 percent in 1999.
    The survey found no change in overall safety belt use, moving from 69.9
percent in 1998 to 70.1 percent in 1999.  The overall number reflects safety
belt use by drivers and front seat passengers of passenger cars, sport-utility
vehicles, vans and pickup trucks.
    "We're troubled when belt use declines in any area," said Betty J. Mercer,
OHSP division director.  "It's even more disturbing when that decrease comes
in a population where we have low use rates.  We don't have an explanation and
hope that heightened publicity efforts and the new law will reverse the
decline."
    Many states with secondary enforcement laws find safety belt use plateaus
around 70 percent.  In the spring of 2000, Michigan's standard enforcement law
will take effect, allowing officers to ticket motorists who are not buckled
up.  Currently, Michigan's safety belt law has secondary enforcement status,
meaning motorists must be stopped for another traffic code violation before a
safety belt citation can be issued.
    A statewide public information campaign, "Click it or ticket," has been
launched to alert motorists to the impending change in the safety belt law.
Materials, including radio and television public service announcements, are
slated to begin airing as soon as February.
    Historically, safety belt use has increased from 62.7 percent in 1994 to
70.1 percent in 1999.  Based on the experience of other states that have
changed from secondary to standard enforcement laws, Michigan can expect gains
of up to 10 percentage points or more, according to experts with the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
    The safety belt use survey is conducted each fall.  Trained observers
carefully record safety belt use at predetermined sites to accurately measure
belt use habits.

                       Safety Belt Use by Vehicle Type

                               1998         1999
    Passenger cars             72.6%        74.8%
    Sport-utility vehicles     73.1%        70.2%
    Vans                       75.7%        73.6%
    Pickup trucks              54.1%        53.7%
    Overall                    69.9%        70.1%

                    Safety Belt Use by Age and Sex -- 1999

      Age Group               MALE           FEMALE
                            Percent Use    Percent Use
      0-3                     71.3%          72.9%
      4-15                    75.4%          73.2%
      16-29                   48.9%          66.7%
      30-59                   66.1%          81.8%
      60-up                   72.2%          83.2%
      Overall                 63.3%          78.1%

    In addition to demographic data, the annual survey also tracks safety belt
use in Wayne County.  From 1998 to 1999, belt use in Wayne County increased,
from 63.1 percent to 65.8 percent.