Safety belt and motorcycle helmet use in Virginia : the 1998 update.

40496478Technical Assistance: 1992-1998NTIS Invoice: 24017;NTIS Order #:PB99118507PDFResearch Paperhttp://ntl.bts.gov/lib/21000/21400/21438/PB99118507.pdfVTRC-99-TAR121533Seat beltsMotorcycle helmetsTrend (Statistics)VirginiaVirginia Transportation Research CouncilStoke, C. B.Virginia Transportation Research CouncilVirginia. Dept. of Motor VehiclesVirginia. Dept. of TransportationNTL-REFERENCES AND DIRECTORIES-StatisticsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-AccidentsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Highway SafetyNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-Human FactorsNTL-SAFETY AND SECURITY-SAFETY AND SECURITYUS Transportation CollectionThis series of surveys to determine the safety belt and motorcycle helmet use rates in Virginia was initiated to qualify the Commonwealth for incentive funds in accordance with the requirements of Section 153 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. to receive funds, states had to have laws requiring the use of dsafety belts and motorcycle helmets and to meet certain use rate standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration specified the survey criteria to be used in determining a state's use rate. Over the 3 years the program was in operation (1991-93), Virginia qualified for approximatelt $1.6 million in funds. Even though the funding program ended, the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles requested that data collection continue and that the same methods, procedures, and sites be used as were used for the Section 153 program. This report describes the methodology used for site selection and data collection and adds the results of the 1998 survey to those for the previous years (1992-97). The results show that Virginia's 1998 safety belt use rate was 73.6% and its motorcycle helmet use rate was 99.6%. The helmet use rate had been 100% in the first 5 years of the study (1992-1996) and was 98.7% in 1997. For the first 6 years the survey was conducted (1992-97), the safety belt use rates were 71.6%, 73.2%, 71.8%, 70.2%, 69.6%, and 67.1%, respectively