Ready to hear some great news? We have some new data that we’re excited to share with you on the topic of seat belt use. The most recent (2019) statistics show that seat belt use is the highest ever: nearly 91% of all vehicle occupants are wearing the seat belts!
This is a huge safety win. We’re proud of all the hard work from seat belt and safety-awareness campaigns over the years and proud of Americans for buying into a culture of road safety.
Just how many lives are being saved?
Let’s take a look at some significant numbers:
- When used properly, seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45% and the risk of moderate to critical injury by 50%.
- People not wearing a seat belt are 30 times more likely to be ejected from a vehicle during a crash. More than 3 out of 4 people who are ejected during a fatal crash die from their injuries.
- Seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017.
- Between 2011 to 2015 seat belts saved almost 64,000 lives—that’s enough people to fill up the whole TIAA Bank Stadium where the Jacksonville Jaguars play.
How can we keep growing and doing better?
The National Safety Council and the National Center for Statistics and Analysis offer these sobering stats and areas for improvement:
- The 25-34 year-old age bracket accounts for 60% unrestrained deaths.
- Unrestrained deaths are more common at night, accounting for nearly 56% of nighttime fatalities (as opposed to roughly 40% of daytime fatalities).
Let’s keep up the good work and continue the rising trend going until every person is using their seatbelt every trip!