2005 Safety Belt Usage Survey in Kentucky

The objective of this study was to establish 2005 safety belt and child safety seat usage rates in Kentucky. The 2005 survey continues to document the results after enactment of a statewide mandatory safety belt law in 1994 and safety belt enforcement campaign. Data were collected at 200 randomly selected sites spread across Kentucky. Data from the individual sites were combined into a statewide percentage considering roadway functional classification, geographic region, and vehicle miles traveled. The data show that the usage rate in 2005 (66.7 percent) was slightly higher than that in 2004 (66.0 percent). This compares to 65.5 percent in 2003, 62.0 percent in 2002, 61.9 percent in 2001, 60 percent in 2000, 59 percent in 1999, 54 percent in 1998, 1997 and 1995, 55 percent in 1996, and 58 percent in 1994. The current usage is substantially above the 1993 level, prior to enactment of the statewide law, of 42 percent. The 2005 statewide usage rate for children under the age of four was determined to be 94.4percent. This continues the high rate found for this age category and compares to the high of 96.0 percent in 2004. The statewide law, except for children, involves secondary enforcement. The very high usage rate for children can be related to primary enforcement and education. To obtain the maximum possible increase in usage for all vehicle occupants, the current law should be modified to allow primary, rather than secondary, enforcement for all vehicle occupants. As a minimum, primary enforcement should apply to drivers while they are in the permit and intermediate phase of the graduated license program. A recent telephone survey found that about two-thirds of Kentucky drivers favor a primary enforcement law