A record number of Americans strapped on seat belts this year, a trend advocates attribute to tougher restraint laws in some states, the Department of Transportation said Saturday.
The 1993 figure was 66 percent, an increase over 62 percent in 1992 and 59 percent in 1991, the first year the survey was done in the current format.Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said the rise translates into 500 lives saved and more than 14,000 serious injuries avoided in 1993.
"Untold pain and suffering and more than $1 billion in health-care and other costs to society also were avoided," he said.
Pena said his goal is to get 75 percent of drivers and passengers to use seat belts by 1997.
He is scheduled to travel to North Carolina on Monday to highlight that state's aggressive enforcement policy, known as "click it or ticket."
Brian O'Neill, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said compliance in North Carolina is about 80 percent due in part to a four-week campaign involving random checkpoints.
"The thing that makes the difference is the law and the extent to which that law is enforced," O'Neill said.
Only 10 states have the so-called "primary" laws. They are California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Mississippi, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon and Texas.
Other states, including Utah, have "secondary" laws, meaning police officers can cite drivers or passengers for failing to wear a seat belt only if they are stopped for other reasons.