Ky Office of Highway Safety, Seatbelt Usage Survey

The use of safety belts and child safety seats is a proven means of reducing injuries to motor vehicle occupants involved in traffic crashes. There have been various methods used in efforts to increase safety belt and safety seat usage. Past efforts have included public information campaigns, local and statewide legislation, and enforcement of the legislation. In order to evaluate these efforts, statewide observational surveys are conducted. The first observational surveys were conducted in Kentucky in 1982 and have been conducted annually to document safety belt and safety seat usage. Since 1982, safety belt usage among drivers has increased annually, from four percent in 1982 to 58 percent in 1994. The rate has steadily climbed since 1994. Examples of the increasing rates are 60 percent in 2000, 66 percent in 2004, 73 percent in 2008, and 86 percent in 2014. The survey methodology used to collect data has been revised slightly a few times. The current methodology has been in place since 2009. The survey begins immediately after completing the annual “Click It or Ticket” (CIOT) campaigns, lasts for about two months, and involves collecting data at 150 sites across 15 counties. The objective of this study is to establish a statewide safety belt usage rate in Kentucky for 2020. Data will be collected at randomly selected sites across Kentucky by highly trained student workers. Data from the individual sites will be combined into a statewide percentage considering roadway functional classification, county and vehicle miles traveled. 2020’s rate can be compared to those determined from previous surveys and will continue to document the effects of the original “secondary enforcement” statewide mandatory safety belt law in 1994 and the subsequent change to “primary enforcement” which was enacted in 2006. In order to statistically analyze the data and make valid comparisons, the research team will consist of transportation engineers with decades of experience in seatbelt studies as well as a licensed statistician.