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While 90 percent of people wear seat belts, they could have saved nearly 5,000 more lives.
It’s clear that seat belts save lives, and fortunately, most people in the U.S. comply with mandatory seat belt laws. However, there are certain situations in which people are more or less likely to wear seat belts, and seat belts aren’t present on school buses in some places. In this report, we examine the most recent national and state statistics on seat belt use in the U.S. Here are our key findings:
Because the U.S. has no federal law on seat belt use, each state is responsible for deciding who must wear a seat belt based on their ages and seats. Each state legislature also decides if enforcement of these laws is primary, meaning that police can stop someone for violating seat belt law alone, or secondary, meaning that it has to be accompanied by another offense for police to stop the car.
State | Covered ages | Covered seats | Enforcement type | Maximum fine for first offense | Date the law went into effect |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 15+ | Front | Primary (secondary for rear seats) | $25 | July 18, 1991 |
Alaska | 16+ | All | Primary | $15 | Sept. 12, 1990 |
Arizona | 5+ | All: Ages 5-15
Front: Ages 8+ |
Secondary | $10 | Jan. 1, 1991 |
Arkansas | 15+ | Front | Primary | $25 | July 15, 1991 |
California | 16+ | All | Primary | $20 | Jan. 1, 1986 |
Colorado | 16+ | Front | Secondary (primary for under 18) | $71 | July 1, 1987 |
Connecticut | 8+ | Front | Primary | $15 | Jan. 1, 1986 |
Delaware | 16+ | All | Primary | $50 | Dec. 12, 1985 |
District of Columbia | 16+ | All | Primary | $25 | Jan. 1, 1992 |
Florida | 6+ | All: Ages 6-17 Front: Ages 6+ |
Primary | $30 | July 1, 1986 |
Georgia | 8+ | All: Ages 8-17 Front: Ages 18+ |
Primary | $15 | Sept. 1, 1988 |
Hawaii | 8+ | All | Primary | $45 | Dec. 16, 1985 |
Idaho | 7+ | All | Secondary (primary for drivers under 18) | $10 | July 1, 1986 |
Illinois | 16+ | All | Primary | $25 | Jan. 1, 1988 |
Indiana | 16+ | All | Primary | $25 | July 1, 1987 |
Iowa | All | Front | Primary | $25 | July 1, 1986 |
Kansas | 14+ | All: Ages 14-17
Front: Ages 18+ |
Primary (secondary for ages 18+ in rear seats) | Ages 14-17: $60, no court costs Ages 18+: $10, no court costs |
July 1, 1986 |
Kentucky | 7+ (also 6 and under if over 50 inches tall) | All | Primary | $25 | July 15, 1994 |
Louisiana | 13+ | All | Primary | $25; $45 in Orleans Parish | July 1, 1986 |
Maine | 18+ | All | Primary | $50 | Dec. 26, 1995 |
Maryland | All | All: Under age 16
Front: Ages 16+ |
Primary (secondary for ages 16+ in rear seats) | $25 | July 1, 1986 |
Massachusetts | 13+ | All | Secondary | $25 | Feb. 1, 1994 |
Michigan | 16+ | Front | Primary | $25 | July 1, 1985 |
Minnesota | 8+ (also 7 and under if over 57 inches tall) | All | Primary | $25 | Aug. 1, 1986 |
Mississippi | 7+ | All | Primary | $25 | July 1, 1994 |
Missouri | 8+ | All: Ages 8-15
Front: Ages 16+ |
Secondary (primary for ages 8-15) | $10 | Sept. 28, 1985 |
Montana | 6+ | All | Secondary | $20 | Oct. 1, 1987 |
Nebraska | 18+ | Front | Secondary | $25 | Jan. 1, 1993 |
Nevada | 6+ | All | Secondary | $25 | July 1, 1987 |
New Jersey | 8+ (also 7 and under if weighing over 80 pounds) | All | Primary (secondary for rear seats) | No law | N/A |
New Hampshire | Under 18 | All | Primary | $20 | March 1, 1985 |
New Mexico | 18+ | All | Primary | $25 | Jan. 1, 1986 |
New York | All | All | Primary | $50 | Dec. 1, 1984 |
North Carolina | 16+ | All | Primary (secondary for rear seats) | $25 | Oct. 1, 1985 |
North Dakota | 18+ | Front | Secondary | $20 | July 14, 1994 |
Ohio | 8+ | All: Ages 8-14 Front: Ages 15+ |
Secondary (primary for ages 8-14) | $30 for driver; $20 for passenger | May 6, 1986 |
Oklahoma | 13+ | Front | Primary | $20 | Feb. 1, 1987 |
Oregon | All | All | Primary | $110 | Dec. 7, 1990 |
Pennsylvania | 8+ | All: Ages 8-17 Front: Ages 18+ |
Secondary (primary for ages 8-17) | $10 | Nov. 23, 1987 |
Rhode Island | 8+ | All | Primary | $40 | June 18, 1991 |
South Carolina | 8+ | All | Primary | $25 | July 1, 1989 |
South Dakota | 18+ | Front | Secondary | $20 | Jan. 1, 1995 |
Tennessee | 16+ | Front | Primary | $50 | April 21, 1986 |
Texas | 8+ (also 7 and under if over 57 inches tall) | All | Primary | $200 | Sept. 1, 1985 |
Utah | 16+ | All | Primary | $45 | April 28, 1986 |
Vermont | All | All | Secondary (primary for ages under 18) | $25 | Jan. 1, 1994 |
Virginia | All | All | Secondary (primary for ages under 18) | $25 | Jan. 1, 1988 |
Washington | 16+ (and younger if over 4’9”) | All | Primary | $124 | June 11, 1986 |
West Virginia | 8+ | All: Ages 8-17 Front: Ages 8+ |
Primary | $25 | Sept. 1, 1993 |
Wisconsin | 8+ | All | Primary | $10 | Dec. 1, 1987 |
Wyoming | 9+ | All | Secondary | $25 for driver; $10 for passenger1 | June 8, 19892 |
The state with the most strict seat belt laws is Oregon. All passengers must wear seat belts, regardless of their age or seat. The law is under primary enforcement, and the fine is up to $110 for the first offense.
The states with the most lenient seat belt laws are North Dakota and South Dakota. In these states, only those 18 and older in the front seat must wear seat belts. The law is under secondary enforcement, and the maximum fine for the first offense is just $20.
States mandate seat belt use for a great reason: They save lives. From 1975 to 2017, seat belts saved 132,411 lives, an average of 13,241 a year.
Year | Estimated number of lives saved by seat belts in passenger vehicles |
---|---|
1975-2008 | 13,312 |
2009 | 12,757 |
2010 | 12,670 |
2011 | 12,071 |
2012 | 12,386 |
2013 | 12,644 |
2014 | 12,801 |
2015 | 14,062 |
2016 | 14,753 |
2017 | 14,955 |
In 2019 specifically, of the people who survived passenger vehicle crashes, 79 percent were wearing seat belts; only 21 percent were not. In other words, 8 in 10 survivors of car crashes were wearing seat belts.
For front-seat passengers, seat belts make traffic fatalities 45 percent less likely, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s analysis of U.S. Department of Transportation data. While 9,572 unrestrained people died in traffic accidents in 2019, 4,307 of them could have lived if they were belted in, according to the IIHS.3
Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Safety Council showed that, of the 22,215 people across all seats who died in traffic accidents in 2019, 9,466 (43 percent) were unrestrained. Seat belts could have saved 4,260 lives in that year alone.45
Aside from preventing deaths, seat belts also prevent moderate to critical injuries for front-seat passengers, making them 50 percent less likely. In 2020, over 1.7 million passengers had nonfatal injuries in car accidents, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means over 853,000 people could have prevented their injuries if they had just worn their seat belts during the crashes.
Fortunately, 9 out of 10 people in the U.S. wore seat belts in 2021. This is a slight decrease from its peak of 91 percent in 2019, according to the NHTSA.
Year | Adults in front passenger seats who wore seat belts | Year-over-year difference |
---|---|---|
2007 | 83% | N/A |
2008 | 83% | 0% |
2009 | 84% | 1% |
2010 | 85% | 1% |
2011 | 84% | -1% |
2012 | 86% | 2% |
2013 | 87% | 1% |
2014 | 87% | 0% |
2015 | 89% | 2% |
2016 | 90% | 1% |
2017 | 90% | 0% |
2018 | 90% | 0% |
2019 | 91% | 1% |
2020 | 90% | -1% |
2021 | 90% | 0% |
Certain factors affect the frequency of seat belt use. For example, in 2021:
Demographic/circumstance | How often they wore seat belts in 2021 (high to low) |
---|---|
Drivers in the West | 95% |
Driving on expressways | 94% |
Driving in fast traffic | 93% |
Driving in vans and SUVs | 92% |
Driving in heavy traffic | 92% |
Driving on weekends | 91% |
In states with primary seat belt laws | 91% |
Driving in passenger cars | 91% |
Driving in weather conditions with unclear visibility | 91% |
Drivers in urban areas | 91% |
Driving in weather conditions with clear visibility | 90% |
Drivers in the South | 90% |
Drivers in rural areas | 90% |
Driving during weekday rush hour | 90% |
Driving on weekdays | 90% |
Driving during weekday non-rush hours | 90% |
Right-front passengers | 89% |
Driving in moderate traffic | 89% |
Drivers in the Northeast | 89% |
Drivers in the Midwest | 89% |
Driving in medium traffic | 88% |
In states with secondary seat belt laws or no enforcement laws | 88% |
Driving on surface streets | 88% |
Driving in slow traffic | 86% |
Driving in pickup trucks | 85% |
Driving in light traffic | 82% |
All in all, the person most likely to wear a seat belt is a driver in the West who’s driving in fast traffic on expressways in a van or SUV. At the other end, a person driving in light traffic in a pickup truck on surface streets in the Midwest is least likely to buckle up.
British engineer George Cayley invented seat belts in the mid-19th century to use on his monoplane glider. Seat belts originally went across the lap only in a three-point model, and they didn’t become standard in vehicles until 1958 in Sweden. A decade later, American engineers followed suit.6
Scientists test seat belts by measuring their effectiveness at absorbing the kinetic energy around a crash test dummy’s torso, hips, and rib cage. The purpose of the seat belt is to redirect the kinetic energy away from the passenger.
By crashing cars into walls head-on, scientists can see how seat belts perform in real crashes. With a car going from 31 to 0 mph, scientists measure how much the dummy was displaced to determine if the seat belt succeeded or not.7
Depending on your state and locality, you may not have had seat belts on your school bus. If seat belts are so effective at preventing traffic fatalities and injuries, why aren’t they protecting children on school buses across the U.S.?
First, it’s important to understand that school buses are safer than regular passenger vehicles; in fact, they’re the safest way to get to school in the U.S., according to the NHTSA. While 78 percent of traffic fatalities of school-age children from 2003 to 2014 involved passenger-vehicle occupants, only 1 percent involved children in large school buses — a difference of 99 percent, in other words.
Mode of transportation | Number of fatalities | Percentage of total fatalities of school-age children in the U.S. during school transportation time in 2003-2014 (high to low) |
---|---|---|
Occupants of a passenger vehicle | 453 | 78% |
Pedestrians (other) | 61 | 10% |
Occupants of other vehicles | 35 | 6% |
Bicyclists | 19 | 3% |
Pedestrians near/around loading and unloading zone of school bus | 12 | 2% |
Occupants of a large school bus | 3 | 1% |
School buses are so safe largely because have more federal standards than any other vehicle type, including these criteria:
That being said, the NHTSA acknowledges that seat belts on school buses would better protect children. In fact, a federal mandate would save two lives a year (given the number of buses didn’t decrease).
However, installing seat belts on all school buses in the U.S. would increase their purchase and operating costs. Consequently, fewer buses would be available, leading students to take other, less safe modes of transportation to school. As a result, 10 to 19 children would die commuting to school, which is at least five times more than the lives seat belts would save. In other words, a federal mandate on seat belts in school buses is a net negative under current school transportation budgets.
That being said, some states already require school buses to have seat belts:
Additionally, local jurisdictions in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas have the power to approve or deny the use of seat belts.9
In a perfect world, everyone would wear seat belts in passenger cars, regardless of the state or local law. However, with an 8 percent increase in seat belt use from 2007 to 2021, the overall trend is positive. Hopefully, the trend will continue upward, saving more lives and preventing more injuries than ever before.
To learn more, read our car insurance research on the dangers of distracted driving, auto theft, and hit-and-runs. While some incidents aren’t preventable, seat belts are one easy way to greatly increase your overall safety while driving.
To compile this report, we analyzed data from these government organizations and other third-party sources:
Seat Belts. Governors Highway Safety Association. (2022).
https://www.ghsa.org/state-laws/issues/seat%20belts
Primary Enforcement of Seat Belt Laws. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022).
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/calculator/factsheet/seatbelt.html
Fatality Facts 2019. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). (2021, May).
https://www.iihs.org/topics/fatality-statistics/detail/state-by-state#restraint-use
Traffic Safety Facts. National Highway Traffic Safety Administation. (2021, Nov).
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813209
Seat Belts. National Safety Council. (2021).
https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/occupant-protection/seat-belts/
Seat Belt. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. (2022).
https://globalhealthnow.org/object/seat-belt
Crash Testing. GWR. (2022).
https://gwrco.com/latest_news/seat-belt-crash-testing-can-still-learn-lot-dummy/
Why do school buses not require seat belts? Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles. (2022).
https://dmv.vermont.gov/faq/why-do-school-buses-not-require-seat-belts
Should School Buses Have Seat Belts? National Conference of State Legislatures. (2022, Jan 1).
https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/should-school-buses-have-seat-belts.aspx