Skip to main content
Blog Transportation

Seat Belt See, Seat Belt Do

Setting a good example by using seat belts could help save lives, according to a survey done by Maryland transportation officials.

The 2019 Roadside Observation Seat Belt Survey found that passengers use seat belts 93% of the time when the driver also is belted, and only 40% of the time when the driver is unbelted.

The survey, conducted by the Maryland Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Administration, observed 32,433 vehicles in 13 jurisdictions across Maryland.

Another finding from the survey shows that seat belt use increased slightly from 90.3% in 2018 to 90.4% in 2019.

A AAA news release said that nearly 94% of Americans disapprove of someone driving without a seat belt. That’s according to the latest Traffic Safety Culture Index from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

“One of our goals is to make sure that every person in a vehicle in Maryland is buckled up. Every age, in every seat, every trip and every time,” Timothy Kearns, director of the Maryland Highway Safety Office MDOT MVA, told the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board in a recent briefing on Maryland’s efforts to improve highway safety.

So far in 2019 in Prince George’s County alone, at least 10 people, including five children who were not buckled up, have died in crashes.

A new campaign reminds Maryland drivers to wear their seat belts. MDOT photo

Multiple seat belt safety campaigns are planned, including “Seat Belts Look Good on You.”

Under this initiative, those between 16 to 19 years old who take and pass the road skills test on the third Friday of the month during the school year will receive a free “seat belt” necktie or scarf. They can get one while supplies last at full-service MDOT MVA branches.

“Unfortunately, far too many Marylanders are still not buckling up on local roads or in the back seat. This is risky behavior. Despite the perceived danger, risk of arrest, and personal and social disapproval, American drivers report engaging in a number of problematic driving behaviors,” AAA Mid-Atlantic Public Affairs Director John B. Townsend II said in a news release.

“In fact, 17% of drivers confessed to having driven without wearing a seat belt at least once in the past 30 days prior to the survey,” he said.

As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from Kristi King. Click here for the WTOP News website.

Did someone forward this to you?
Get your own daily morning news roundup in your inbox. Free. Sign up here.

REPUBLISHING TERMS

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

To republish, copy the following text and paste it into your HTML editor.

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
Seat Belt See, Seat Belt Do