Most Wanted
Transportation Safety
Improvements
State Issues

Enact Primary Seat Belt Enforcement Laws

Importance

The number of fatal injuries to occupants of highway vehicles has always been the highest of any mode of transportation.

In 2007, according to data released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), almost 29,000 people died as occupants in auto crashes; 54 percent of them were unrestrained.

Using lap/shoulder belts reduces the risk of fatal injury to front seat passengers by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent.

In a 2006 study, when adults were wearing their seat belts, 87 percent of children were also restrained, but when adults were not wearing their seat belts, only 58 percent of children were restrained.(1)

States that have enacted primary seat belt enforcement have about a 10-15 percent higher use rate than States that have only secondary enforcement.

NHTSA estimates that seat belts saved 15,383 lives in 2006. Had all passenger vehicle occupants over age 4 used seat belts, an additional 5,441 lives could have been saved.

Safety Recommendations: (H-97-2) currently includes one recommendation.

H-97-2 (the States, the District of Columbia, and the Territories)
Issued July 1, 1997
Added to the Most Wanted List: 1998
Status: Various
Enact legislation that provides for primary enforcement of mandatory seat belt use laws, including provisions such as the imposition of driver’s license penalty points and appropriate fines. Existing legal provisions that insulate people from the financial consequences of not wearing a seat belt should be repealed. (Source: Letter of recommendation dated July 1, 1997, as a result of the Board’s 1997 Public Forum on Air Bags and Child Passenger Safety)

Summary of Action

Twenty-six States (AL, AK, CA, CT, DE, GA, HI, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MI, MS, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OK, OR, SC, TN, TX, and WA), the five Territories (American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands) and the District of Columbia have enacted primary enforcement laws. However, the primary enforcement law applies to all seating positions in only 11 States (AK, CA, DE, IN, KY, ME, NC, NM, OR, SC, and WA) and the District of Columbia.

Fines for non-compliance in the United States typically range from $10 to $25; 10 States and the District of Columbia assess a fine (sometimes combined with special fees) of $50 or more. Only the District of Columbia, New Mexico, New York, and the U.S. Virgin Islands assess penalty points for seat belt violations.

In 2008, at least 7 States (FL, MA, MN, NE, RI, VT, and VA) considered legislation to authorize primary enforcement or make other improvements to their existing seat belt laws.

Actions Remaining

Twenty-four States should enact a primary seat belt enforcement law, and 15 primary enforcement States should enact seat belt laws that apply to all seating positions.

November 2008

1. United States Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Child Restraint Use in 2006 – Overall Results, DOT HS 810 737 (Washington, DC: NHTSA, 2007) 1.

Map - Primary Seat Belt Enforcement Laws (93 KB)
Chart - Primary Seat Belt Enforcement Laws (37 KB)

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