FACT SHEET

Nighttime Seat Belt Enforcement Project

May 6, 2007

Click it or Ticket patrols are moving to the nighttime hours in late May. Patrols will take place between May 21 and June 3 (WTSC).

From 2001 through 2005, there were 2,366 vehicle occupant deaths*: 1,153 (49%) occurred during the day and 1,198 (51%) occurred at night (from 6:00 pm – 6:00 am) (FARS).

Though the number of people killed during the day is about the same as those killed at night, the death rate at night is approximately four to five times higher because traffic volumes are lower at night (WTSC).  Research has suggested that traffic volumes at night only comprise 12-20% of the total traffic volume (Williams [1985]; ISDOT).    

There will be an estimated 77 law enforcement agencies participating in extra nighttime seat beat enforcement patrols, including the Washington State Patrol statewide (WTSC).

From 2005 through 2006, most seat belt tickets (85%) in Washington were written during the day, with only 15% written at night (WSP). 

Effective April 30, 2007, a seat belt ticket costs $112, as determined by the legislature and Washington Supreme Court (RCW 46.63.110(3)).

Lap and shoulder belts, when used correctly, reduce the risk of fatal injury by 45%, and reduce the risk of critical injury by 50%, nationally (NHTSA).

Medical costs from collisions amount to over $276 million each year in Washington. An unbelted vehicle occupant’s medical costs average $11,000 more per collision than those of a belted vehicle occupant’s (WTSC, HMC). 

According to a 1996 study by the University of North Carolina, unbuckled drivers are more likely to be: male, have less education, have numerous traffic violations on their records (speed, DUI, running red lights, following too closely), and they are more likely to not have health insurance. The percentage of unbelted drivers without health insurance was higher by a ratio of two to one (Reinfurt, Williams, Wells & Rodgman). 

General Seat Belt Information:

Efforts to get people to buckle up began in the late 1960’s. Washington’s secondary seat belt law passed in 1986 and at that time only 35% of motorists buckled up. Washington’s primary seat belt law became effective in June, 2002 (WTSC).

Prior to the passage of Washington’s primary enforcement seat belt law, seat belt use in this state hovered between 79% and 82%. The Click It or Ticket campaign was adopted the year the law became effective (2002) and this raised seat belt use to 94% and it have hovered between 94% and 96% ever since (WTSC).                                                                                         
Washington has the highest seat belt use ever recorded in the United States and the world at 96.3%. This use rate was determined by a statewide observational survey done in June, 2006. The survey was of 105,720 vehicle drivers and passengers. It was done statewide in 19 counties (east and west) on a variety or road types following research protocols established by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Seat belt use has traditionally been higher on freeways where people feel more at risk of dying in a collision, but most fatal collisions actually happen within 15 miles of home, and many of them are on city streets and county roads (WTSC).

From 1992 through 1996, 86% of drivers in fatal collisions were killed within 15 miles of their homes (WSP).

A 2005 study (Salzberg & Beard) found that unbuckled motorists had worse driving records, specifically:

• More DUI citations
• More unlicensed drivers (license suspensions and revocations)
• More vehicle license violations
• Prior seat belt tickets

Drinking-driver-involved fatalities also occur more frequently at night than during the day, accounting for 74% of all drinking-driver-involved fatalities.  The drinking-driver-involved death rate is approximately 16 times higher during the night than during the day (FARS, WTSC).

Nationally, adults who don’t wear seat belts don’t make their children buckle up 75% of the time. Each year about 60% of children who die in motor vehicle crashes are not buckled up (NSC).

*We refer to “vehicle occupant deaths” instead of just “traffic deaths” because the traffic death number also reflects pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle deaths which are not helped by improvements in seat belt use. The death rate is a calculation of deaths per vehicle miles traveled (FARS).

Unless otherwise stated, statistics pertain to Washington.
WTSC | Washington Traffic Safety Commission
FARS | Fatality Analysis Reporting System
NHTSA | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
RCW Revised Code of Washington
NSC | National Safety Council
WSP | Washington State Patrol
Salzberg, P. & Beard, M. (2005).  The last five percent: Who are the non-users of seatbelts in Washington State?  Washington Traffic Safety Commission.
DOH | Washington Department of Health
HMC | Harborview Medical Center
ISDOT | Illinois State Department of Transportation.  Illinois Travel Statistics (1997-2001).  http://www.dot.state.il.us. 
Williams, A. F. (1985). Nighttime driving and fatal crash involvement of teenagers.  Accident Analysis and Prevention, 17(1), p 1-5.