WisDOT celebrates record-high seat belt use in Wisconsin on National Seat Belt Days

On National Seat Belt Day, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) and Division of Wisconsin State Patrol celebrate record-high seat belt use in Wisconsin after the most recent observational survey reported 94% of drivers in the state buckle up. This is the highest percentage of seat belt use reported since WisDOT began doing the survey 25 years ago.

“Wearing a seat belt is one of the simplest things a vehicle occupant can do to protect themselves on the road,” Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent Tim Carnahan said. “The results of this survey are encouraging, but they also show there’s more work to do. To the remaining 6% we ask, what’s holding you back? We’ll continue to do our part to educate drivers about the importance of buckling up, but we hope drivers will do their part and make it click.”

Last year, 7,648 crashes in Wisconsin involved motorists who were not wearing seat belts, resulting in 176 deaths and 2,022 injuries among unbelted occupants. On average, half of all vehicle occupants killed in Wisconsin traffic crashes are not wearing seat belts, according to crash analysis data where seat belt use is a known factor.

WisDOT has been conducting annual observational surveys of safety belt use since 1987. Trained observers collect data at 160 observation sites throughout Wisconsin in the spring and fall using a survey designed and approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The survey is completed through a longstanding partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The results are reported annually to NHTSA and are used to inform and evaluate WisDOT’s traffic safety campaigns like Click It or Ticket and Buckle Up Phone Down.

Seat belts did not become mandatory equipment in all vehicles in the United States until 1968. However, Wisconsin was ahead of the curve, becoming the first state to require seat belts to be installed in the front seats of all new cars in 1961. In 1987, a mandatory safety belt use law went into effect requiring occupants to buckle up. Then in 2009, the law became a “primary enforcement” law, allowing law enforcement to pull over and cite drivers for not wearing a seat belt. Over the last two decades, Wisconsin continues to steadily improve its seat belt use rate.

Seat belts are proven to save lives and prevent serious injuries in a crash. Drivers and passengers are required to always wear a seat belt on Wisconsin’s roads. For more information on seat belt safety, visit WisDOT’s Zero in Wisconsin website.

National Seat Belt Day was created in 2019 by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association (GHSA) and is recognized each year on November 14 to encourage all motor vehicle occupants to buckle up every trip, every time.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.