Write Up:

Seat belts save lives, but getting people to use them – even to protect their own lives – is a challenge. Public education is one way to keep the issue in front of motorists, along with legislation. MoDOT supports each approach, attacking the problem with focused marketing campaigns and reinforcing it with hard facts to back legislative efforts. Several municipalities across the state are taking matters into their own hands, enacting primary ordinances within city limits. Missouri currently has one county and 63 municipalities that have adopted primary seat belt ordinances, representing over 27% of the state’s population.

Based on 119,413 observations, seat belt use in Missouri for 2019 was 87.7%, a 0.6% increase from 2018. Gasconade County was the lowest at 67.7% and Callaway County was the highest at 96.0% (weighted data). The national average for seat belt use in 2018 was 89.6% (2019 data is not yet available). Missouri’s national ranking (including Washington DC) in 2018 was 34th, with 17 states ranking lower in seat belt use.  States with a primary seat belt law generally rank highest on seat belt use nationwide, while states that have a secondary law continue to rate lowest in national rankings.

MoDOT is improving its safety culture through statewide strategic initiatives such as Buckle Up Phone Down and by coordinating Click It or Ticket, Youth Seat Belt and Child Passenger Safety Campaigns, as well as providing educational programs such as Teens Taking Action To Prevent Traffic Crashes and ThinkFirst.

Purpose of the Measure:

This measure tracks annual trends in seat belt use in passenger vehicles. This data drives the development and focus of the Missouri Highway Safety Plan and supports Missouri’s Blueprint to Save More Lives.

Measurement and Data Collection:

Each June, a statewide survey is conducted at 560 preselected locations in 28 counties. The data collected is calculated into a seat belt usage rate using a formula approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Data collection locations are selected from counties that represent 85 percent of the state’s vehicle occupant fatalities. While the data collection plan is the same each year for consistency, NHTSA guidelines require survey sites to be re-selected every five years based on updated fatality data.  The 2018 survey is the first survey using updated survey sites since Missouri’s new survey methodology started in 2013. The target for this measure is updated annually in October for the next calendar year.  This target is established as the current national average.