Of the 31,910 vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2001, 60 percent were not wearing a safety belt. [The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2001]

Safety belts saved 13,274 lives in 2001, and if all vehicle occupants over age 4 had been wearing safety belts, 7,334 more lives could have been saved, NHTSA estimates. [NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts Overview, 2001]

Each percentage-point increase in safety belt use represents 2.8 million more people buckling up, 250 more lives saved and 6,400 serious injuries prevented annually, NHTSA estimates. [NHTSA, FY2003 Performance Plan, 2002]

Safety belt use has increased significantly in the past few years, but more must be done. Safety belt use in the United States rose to 75 percent in 2002 from 58 percent in 1994. [NHTSA, National Occupant Protection Use Survey, June 2002]

Seventy-three percent of the people who were in a fatal crash in 2001 and were restrained survived; of those who were not restrained, only 44 percent survived. [NHTSA, Annual Assessment of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2001]

In fatal crashes, 75 percent of all passenger car occupants who were totally ejected were killed. Only 1 percent of those occupants had been using a safety belt. [NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts Overview, 2001]

In the past 26 years, safety belts prevented 135,000 fatalities and 3.8 million injuries, saving $585 billion in medical and other costs. If all vehicle occupants had used safety belts during that period, nearly 315,000 deaths and 5.2 million injuries could have been prevented — and $913 billion in costs saved. [NHTSA, Economic Impact of Crashes, 2002]

In 2000, the deaths and serious injuries prevented by safety belts resulted in savings of $50 billion in medical care, lost productivity and other injury-related costs. [NHTSA, Economic Impact of Crashes, 2002]

Motor vehicle crashes in 2000 cost a total of $230.6 billion, an amount equal to 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product, or $820 for every person living in the United States. [NHTSA, Economic Impact of Crashes, 2002]

In 2000, the economic cost to society was more than $977,000 for each crash fatality and an average of $1.1 million for each critically injured person. [NHTSA, Economic Impact of Crashes, 2002]

The general public pays nearly three-quarters of all crash costs, primarily through insurance premiums, taxes, delays and lost productivity. [NHTSA, Economic Impact of Crashes, 2002]

In 2001, 64 percent of all 18- to 34-year-old passenger vehicle occupants who were killed or severely injured in crashes were not wearing safety belts. By comparison, among vehicle occupants age 35 and older who were killed or severely injured in crashes, 48 percent were not buckled up. [Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2001 Annual Report File (ARF)]

In 2001, 68 percent of the 18- to 34-year-old male passenger vehicle occupants who were killed or severely injured in crashes were not wearing safety belts. Fifty-four percent of the women age 18 to 34 who were killed or severely injured in crashes were not buckled up. [Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2001 Annual Report File (ARF)]

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 24 in the United States. [National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report, 2002]

In 2001, 63 percent of 16- to 20-year-old drivers and passengers killed or seriously injured in crashes were not wearing a safety belt. [Fatality Analysis Reporting System, 2001 Annual Report File (ARF)]

In 2001, the economic cost of police-reported crashes involving drivers age 15 to 20 was about $42.3 billion. [NHTSA, Traffic Safety Facts 2001 –Young Drivers]

Male teens continue to lag behind female teens in safety belt use. In 2001, 18.1 percent of high school males said they rarely or never wore a safety belt as a passenger, compared with 10.2 percent of high school females. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2001]

Ninety-four percent of drivers age 16 to 20 said they buckle up to avoid serious injury. Eighty-two percent said they use safety belts because it’s the law, and 80 percent do so to avoid a ticket. [NHTSA, Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey, 2000]

Safety belt use among African Americans rose to 77 percent — increasing to essentially the same level as that of the general population — in 2002, from 69 percent in 2000. More than a quarter of African Americans who did not use safety belts in 2000 used them in 2002. [NHTSA, National Occupant Protection Use Survey, June 2002]

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for African Americans from birth through age 14 and are the second leading cause of death for African Americans 15 to 24 years old. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 1998]

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics age one to 34 and the third leading cause of death for all Hispanics, surpassed only by heart disease and cancer. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2000]

In 2001, 16.1 percent of African American teens said they rarely or never used a safety belt as a passenger, compared with 13.6 percent of white teens and 14.5 percent of Hispanic teens. [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2001]

Even though African American and Hispanic male teens drive fewer miles than white male teens, they are twice as likely than whites to die in a crash. [Archives Of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine, 1998]

Safety belt use in rural areas was 73 percent in 2002, slightly below the 75 percent national average. [NHTSA, National Occupant Protection Use Survey, June 2002]

Safety belt use by pickup truck occupants is about 64 percent, among the lowest for any demographic group. [NHTSA, National Occupant Protection Use Survey, June 2002]

There are two types of safety belt laws: primary and secondary. A primary law allows a law enforcement officer to write a ticket if he or she simply observes an unbelted driver or passenger. Under a secondary law, an officer cannot ticket anyone for a safety belt violation unless the motorist is stopped for another infraction. Primary laws are very effective in increasing safety belt use. In 2002, belt use in States with primary laws was 80 percent, compared with 69 percent in States without primary laws. [NHTSA, National Occupant Protection Use Survey, June 2002]

Teen safety belt use is significantly higher in States with primary safety belt laws than in States with secondary laws. [National Safety Council, Teenage Safety Belt Use, 2002]

As of April 2003, only 18 States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia had primary safety belt laws. The primary-law States are Alabama, California, Connecticut, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas and Washington. New Hampshire is the only State that has no adult safety belt law.

The Click It or Ticket model uses advertising, earned media and high-visibility law enforcement to increase safety belt and child safety seat use. Click It or Ticket programs have successfully sustained increases in restraint use at the community, State and regional levels. [NHTSA, Evaluation of Click It or Ticket Model Programs, 2002]

In May 2002, 10 States that implemented full-scale Click It or Ticket campaigns increased safety belt use overall by 8.6 percentage points, to 77.1 percent. The States used paid and earned media and State-wide law enforcement for four weeks. But in States that increased enforcement without publicizing the effort through paid media, belt use rose an average of only half a percentage point. [NHTSA, Evaluation of Click It or Ticket Model Programs, 2002]