Longitudinal Patterns in the Un-Belted North Carolinian

• Activity Number: 259
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Monday, August 5, 2013 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Consulting
• Author(s): Cynthia Augustine*+
• Companies: RTI International
• Keywords: seat belt ; transportation

Abstract

While seat belt use in the United States has reached a national average of around 85% and a rate of nearly 90% in North Carolina, there is a high rate of unrestrained fatalities on the roadways. The State of North Carolina and many other jurisdictions are grappling with the last 10% of the population who do not wear their seat belts, and the potentially larger group, who only wear seat belts part of the time. As part of the larger research goal of determining the reasons why some people choose not to use the seat belt, this paper investigates the characteristics of non-users of seat belts in North Carolina since 2000. Understanding who does not use their seat belt will help researchers target these drivers and passengers for focus groups, surveys and further research to understand their motivation for not wearing seat belts, as well as what it would take to get them to use seat belts regularly.