Press Release

Survey Says Drivers Want Better Belt Laws

09/03/96

Drivers Want Tougher Belt Use Laws, According to Poll


Ky., Aug. 29 -- Most American drivers favor tougher
safety belt use laws to reduce deaths and injuries that result from
motor vehicle crashes, according to a national survey conducted for
the Automotive Occupant Restraints Council.

The Automotive Occupant Restraints Council (AORC) commissioned the
nationwide poll of 1,001 adult drivers in July as part of its
continuing probe of public attitudes concerning traffic safety
issues. The Council is a nonprofit organization that represents the
manufacturers and suppliers of air bags, safety belts and their
components.

Don DeFosset, chairman of the Automotive Occupant Restraints Council
and President of AlliedSignal Safety Restraint Systems, Sterling
Heights, Mich., said, "It is gratifying to learn that 57 percent of
drivers polled agree that primary belt use laws are better than
secondary-enforced laws. Since the first statewide safety belt use law
became effective in 1984, the Council has vigorously supported primary
belt use laws. States having primary laws report belt use 17 percent
greater than states having secondary use laws. We know increased belt
use results in additional lives saved."

Currently, eleven states have primary safety belt use laws allowing
police to issue tickets for not wearing safety belts in the absence of
any other traffic violations. Most states have secondary laws that
allow police to issue citations for not wearing belts only if the
driver had been stopped for some other violation. If all states had
primary belt use laws, safety belt use would rise to 74 percent
nationwide.

The council is an active member of the National Automotive Occupant
Protection Campaign, a coalition advocating primary safety belt use
laws. The Campaign has selected nine states to receive its support to
upgrade current belt use laws. Officials in all of the nine states
have said they want their belt use laws strengthened. Those nine
states are Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri,
New Jersey, Ohio and Oklahoma.

Other details revealed in the poll include:

Women (60 percent) were more likely to agree that there is a need
for primary safety belt use laws than men (54 percent).

Hispanics (68 percent) agreed more with this concept than African
Americans (51 percent) or whites (57 percent).

Respondents in the Central and Southern states (60 percent) agreed
more than Westerners (56 percent) and Easterners (48 percent). SOURCE
Automotive Occupant Restraint Council