Indiana Poll Shows Growing Majority of all Drivers and Pickup Truck Drivers Favor Required Seat Belt Use in Pickup Trucks

INDIANAPOLIS, Jan. 19, 2004 -- A commanding 78 percent majority of all adult drivers in Indiana, as well as a solid 58 percent majority of pickup truck drivers, favor a proposed law to require front seat occupants of pickup trucks to wear seat belts. These results are based on a survey released today by the Indiana Farm Bureau, Clarian Health, Inc., and the Indiana Seat Belt Coalition. In a survey last October, support for the proposed law was six percent lower (72 percent of all drivers, 52 percent of pickup truck drivers).

The dual-survey, conducted by the independent research firm of EPIC-MRA, shows that 68 percent of all drivers (up seven percent), believe it is NOT reasonable to exclude the occupants of pickup trucks from the requirements of the law. A near majority (49 percent) of pickup truck drivers shared the same view (up one percent).

More Indiana drivers are aware of the exemption for pickup trucks today than in the October survey. A 57 percent majority of all drivers (up six points) and a solid 73 percent majority of pickup truck drivers (up 14 points) say they are aware of the exemption.

A solid majority of survey respondents also said vehicle occupants who wear seat belts are safer then those who don't. Eighty percent of all respondents (up two points) and 68 percent of pickup truck drivers (unchanged) said vehicle occupants who wear seat belts are safer.

After respondents were told that under current law, children age four to eleven years old are not required to wear seat belts and can ride unrestrained in pickup trucks, support for a change increased by seven percent among all drivers (from 78 when first asked to 85 percent), and by four percent among pickup truck drivers (from 58 to 72 percent). In October, support for a change in the law after hearing this information was unchanged among all drivers and increased by three percent (to 72 percent) among pickup truck drivers.

An overwhelming majority said they were NOT aware of provisions that allow children to ride unsecured as passengers of pickups (78 all drivers, 75 pickup drivers).

Among those who said they favor the proposed change, a solid majority said the proposal should be an "important" or a "top" priority in the upcoming Indiana legislative session (78 percent of all drivers, 67 percent of pickup drivers), which is up two and one percent respectively since October.

In the current survey, but not in the one conducted last October, respondents were told that Indiana could lose $16.9 million in federal funding over the next few years if the seat belt law was not changed, and they were then asked if knowing this made them more or less likely to support the proposed legislation. A 54 percent majority of all drivers and 40 percent of pickup truck drivers said they were more likely to support the proposal, with only two percent of all drivers and four percent of pickup truck drivers saying they were less likely to do so. It is important to note that 13 percent of those respondents who previously opposed the proposed change in the seat belt law said they are more likely to support the proposal with this knowledge.

Also in the current survey (but not in October), respondents were told that the head of the U.S. Department of Transportation urged states to pass primary enforcement seat belt laws that cover all vehicles because the nation cannot afford the more than $230 billion in economic losses each year because of car crashes. After hearing this, a 61 percent majority of all drivers and 43 percent of pickup truck drivers said they were more likely to support the proposal, with only three percent of all drivers and five percent of pickup truck drivers saying they were less likely to support it. Worth noting is that 16 percent of respondents who previously opposed the seat belt law said they are more likely to support the proposal with this knowledge.

  EPIC-MRA Surveys on Indiana Seat Belt Usage/Primary Enforcement Law
   Changes

  Two statewide surveys:
  405 stratified random sample of adult vehicle drivers -
   error margin plus or minus 4.9%
  225 stratified random sample of pickup truck drivers -
   error margin plus or minus 6.5%
  Surveys conducted January 04-08, 2004