States address seatbelt usage

Public Roads, May-June, 2004

Through education, legislation, and enforcement, transportation officials in Iowa and Wyoming are promoting seatbelt use in their States. Iowa's seatbelt usage averaged 86.16 percent in 2003, up almost 4 percent from 2002. In fact, Iowa currently holds the highest seatbelt use rate among the four States in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Region VII and the eighth highest in the Nation. Based on observational studies at 100 locations across the State, the rate has increased tremendously since August 1985, when only 18 percent of Iowans were buckling up.

Meanwhile, citations for failing to buckle up in Wyoming have increased 91 percent since a new law took effect on July 1, 2003. Although law enforcement officers cannot pull over motorists simply for seatbelt violations, the new law dictates that if an officer notices any other driver or vehicle infraction, the unbuckled driver can be stopped and cited for nonuse of a seatbelt without issuing the other citation or warning. Previously, officers could cite individuals for not using seatbelts only if the driver was stopped and first ticketed for a moving violation. Wyoming aims to use this law to improve upon its 2002 seatbelt use rate of 66.6 percent. Nationally, seatbelt use averaged 79 percent in 2003.

Iowa DOT and Wyoming DOT