37 States’ Seat Belt Use Is Up; Hawaii, Arizona Tops

WASHINGTON — The frequency of seat belt use increased in 37 states this year, a fact that federal highway safety officials attribute to greater awareness and police enforcement.

Arizona and Hawaii achieved seat belt use rates of more than 95%, the highest ever reported, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. The national seat belt use rate in 2004 was 80%, also an all-time high.

Mississippi improved its seat belt use rate by 1.6% but still had the lowest rate in the nation at 63.2%. Massachusetts, Arkansas and South Carolina were the only other states with belt use rates at 65% or lower.

NHTSA Administrator Dr. Jeffrey Runge said seat belt advertising campaigns combined with police enforcement have helped boost the numbers. Most states collected their data in June, shortly after a $30-million national advertising campaign.

Primary seat belt laws, which allow police to stop a motorist for not wearing a seat belt, also may increase use levels, NHTSA said. Tennessee, which passed a primary belt law in July 2004, saw its belt use rise from 68.5% in 2003 to 72% in 2004.

Still, the contribution of primary belt laws appears to be mixed. Arizona, with the highest use rate of 95.3%, doesn’t have a primary seat belt law; the other five states with use rates over 90% -- California, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon and Washington -- have them. Puerto Rico, which had a use rate of 90.1%, also has a primary belt law.

Twenty-two states have primary seat belt laws. Most of the rest have secondary seat belt laws, which allow police to issue a seat belt ticket only to a driver stopped for another violation.