KANSAS CITY, MO--(Marketwire - May 25, 2010) -
Riding Unbuckled in 2010 -- Who Is Most at Risk?
- Nighttime drivers -- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, of the 12,671 passenger vehicle occupants who died in motor vehicle crashes between the nighttime hours of 6 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. in 2008, nearly two-thirds (64%) were NOT wearing seat belts -- compared to less than half (45%) of the passenger vehicle occupants killed during the daytime hours of 6 a.m. to 5:59 p.m.
- Teens -- In 2008, 70 percent of the passenger vehicle occupants 13 to 15 years old killed in traffic crashes were not buckled up -- the highest percentage of all age groups.
- Young adults -- Among passenger vehicle occupants 25 to 34 who were killed in crashes, 66 percent were not buckled up -- the second highest percentage for any age group.
- Men -- Men are less likely than women to buckle up. This is especially true of young men. In 2008, 66 percent of male drivers and 74 percent of male passengers 18 to 34 killed in passenger vehicles were NOT wearing their seat belts.
- Pickup drivers and passengers -- Pickup truck drivers and passengers continue to have lower seat belt usage rates than occupants of other passenger vehicles. In 2008, 67 percent of pickup truck drivers and 70 percent of pickup truck passengers who were killed in traffic crashes were NOT buckled up.
Buckling Up -- Proven Life-Saving Benefits
- Saved by the belt -- Seat belts, when used by passenger vehicle occupants 5 and older, saved an estimated 13,250 lives in 2008, more than 75,000 lives from 2004 through 2008, and 255,115 lives from 1975 through 2008.
- Reduced risk -- Seat belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent -- and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans.
- Staying inside the vehicle -- In fatal crashes in 2008, 77 percent of passenger vehicle occupants who were thrown from their vehicles were killed. However, only 1 percent of crash victims who were buckled up were totally ejected from their vehicles, compared to 30 percent of those who were unbuckled.
- Surviving rollovers -- Motorists can increase the odds of survival in a rollover crash in a light truck by nearly 80 percent by wearing their seat belts.
http://www.nhtsa.gov/buckleup/ciot-planner/planner09/radio/Urban.mp3
For more on Click It or Ticket 2010, visit www.nhtsa.gov
Contact Information:
Contact:
Ginny Vineyard
816.456.5302