SEMCOG Reminds Southeast Michigan Motorists to Buckle Up!

    DETROIT, Aug. 22 Whether commencing on the daily commute
or making a quick trip to the corner store, SEMCOG, the Southeast Michigan
Council of Governments, urges motorists to buckle up every time they drive!
Studies show that seat belt usage -- on the rise in 2000 after the State of
Michigan implemented the "Click It or Ticket" law -- is declining in 2001.  In
fact, seat belt use has dropped 3-4 percentage points statewide since 2000's
high showing 83.5 percent of motorists buckled up.
    This is an unsettling trend considering the disproportionately high
fatality and injury rates for unbelted drivers involved in traffic crashes
(see chart below).
    In 2000, over one-third of drivers killed in traffic crashes in Southeast
Michigan were not wearing their seat belts -- even though they accounted for
only 1.4 percent of all drivers involved in crashes.  In all, one in 50
crashes where drivers were unbelted were fatal.  In comparison, only one in
every 2,200 crashes where drivers were wearing a seat belt were fatal.
Percent of Drivers Wearing Seat Belts When Involved in Traffic Crashes, 2000


                   No Injury  C-level   B-level   A-level   Fatal   Total

    Drivers Not
     Wearing
     Seatbelt       2,751       871       867       525      102    5,181

    Drivers
     Wearing
     Seatbelt     274,893    30,612     7,657     2,857      164  366,922

    Total Drivers 277,644    31,482     8,524     3,382      266  372,103

    Percent of Drivers
     Not Wearing
     Seatbelt           1%      2.8%     10.2%     15.5%    38.3%     1.4%

    No Injury = property damage only; C-level = possible injury;
    B-level = non-incapacitating injury; A-level = incapacitating injury.

    The likelihood of unbelted drivers being injured is also
disproportionately high. Only 53 percent of unbuckled drivers escaped a crash
with no personal injury, compared to 75 percent of drivers wearing seat belts.
And when drivers not wearing seat belts are injured, those injuries tend to be
more severe.  One in 10 unbelted drivers received severe, incapacitating
injuries -- less than one in 100 drivers wearing seatbelts suffered the same
degree of injury.  "We at SEMCOG hope that these statistics heighten the
awareness of drivers to use seat belts every time they take the wheel.
Drivers also have the added responsibility to be the good example for the rest
of the passengers," said Paul Tait, SEMCOG Executive Director.  The data
clearly show, buckling up is the right choice -- every time.
    For additional data and materials regarding seat belt use, contact the
Michigan Resource Center, 800-626-4636.
    SEMCOG is a regional planning partnership serving 4.9 million people in
the seven-county region of Southeast Michigan.

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