SEAT BELT USAGE IN ILLINOIS TOPS 90%
The Illinois Department of Transportation's Division of Traffic Safety recently released its findings of a June 2009 observational study regarding seat belt usage in Illinois. The study was conducted statewide during June on both high volume state highways ad low volume local roads and residential streets. The survey was conducted between 7:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and observations were restricted to front seat occupants of cars, SUVs, taxis, vans and pickup trucks.
126,680 front seat occupants were observed during the survey which provided a statistically representative sample of the state as a whole. Of the 126,680 people observed a whopping 91.7% were wearing their seat belts. This represents a shocking 76% increase over results from a 1985 seat belt survey when only 15.9% of front seat occupants were observed using their seat belts. Indeed, 2009 marks the highest usage rate ever since the annual survey began 24 years ago.
The collar counties (DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will) had the highest usage rate at 93.1%, closely followed by the downstate counties at 93.0%. Cook County had a seat belt usage rate of 90.2%. The city of Chicago had the lowest seat belt usage rate at 86.8%.
Of the various road types on which front seat occupants were observed, people on the interstate highways used their seat belts the most. Of the 34,255 people observed on the interstate, 95.3% of them were wearing their seat belts. On Illinois highways, 91.3% were observed wearing their seat belts. Residential roads saw the lowest seat belt use rate with a respectable 89.9%.
The survey also found that people were more inclined to buckle up on the weekends (92.9%) as opposed to the weekdays (90.3%).
These are some excellent statistics and I hope they continue to improve over the years so that one day Illinois will have a 100% seat belt usage rate. There is no question that seat belts save lives, so remember to always buckle up.
