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In 2021, seat belt use in the United States ranged from 72.3 percent in the U.S. Virgin Islands to 97.2 percent in California. Twenty-three States, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands achieved seat belt use rates of 90 percent or higher. These results are from probability-based observational surveys conducted […]
This technical report provides an overview of motor vehicle crashes in 2020. There were 38,824 people killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes on U.S. roadways during 2020, a 6.8-percent increase from 36,355 fatalities in 2019, or 2,469 more people killed in traffic crashes in 2020. The estimated number of people injured on our roadways decreased […]
The Thanksgiving holiday is the kickoff to the busiest season of the year. With all the rushing around and holiday travel, it’s a great time to remind motor vehicle drivers and passengers to buckle their seat belts. To keep drivers and their passengers safe, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) […]
Traveling by school bus is the safest mode for transporting pupils to school (NHTSA, 2020). Donoughe and Katz (2015) analyzed school bus crashes over a decade and found that of the fatal school bus-related crash injuries, 6.2% were school bus occupants. While compartmentalization inside the bus and other safety features outside the bus (such as […]
The project summarized data from a variety of sources on the indirect effects of seat belts on school buses. This report is a synthesis of the research findings and includes the results of a literature review and program scan. The findings also include anecdotal observations from bus drivers and school district officials obtained from a […]
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that despite the recent trend towards higher national seat belt use rates, 10% of drivers still only use seat belts occasionally. The current study examined occasional seat belt use among participants in the Strategic Highway Research Program 2 (SHRP2) Naturalistic Driving Study. The study was exploratory research with […]
This pdf document outlines previous and potential traffic safety measures on the Federal level in the following areas. Encouraging Safer Driving Behavior Vehicle Safety Improvements Roadway Safety Improvements Commercial Transportation Safety Options for Congress State of Traffic Safety in America Driving is one of the riskiest activities the average American engages in. Deaths and serious […]
Rear Belt Use Lower in For-Hire Vehicles Each year, hundreds of unbelted passengers in the back seat of motor vehicles are killed in crashes. New federal data reveal that, in 2018 alone, 803 unrestrained rear seat passengers age eight and up lost their lives; more than 400 of them may be alive today had they […]
This report makes specific recommendations on how states and other stakeholders can and should save lives by increasing rear seat belt use by adults: States should pass and enforce strong laws and publicize the benefits of belt use in all seating situations; Fir-hire vehicle services should actively promote belt use to their passengers; Vehicle manufacturers […]
Starting Nov. 1, law enforcement in Alabama will start ticketing drivers for violating two new traffic laws. The laws – one requiring back-seat passengers to wear seat belts and the other prohibiting drivers from riding in the left lane for too long– went into effect. Sept. 1. Each of the laws, however, had a 60-day […]
