National Seat Belt Day Highlights Key Stats On Road Safety In NJ

When you get into your car, do you automatically buckle your seat belt?

What about when you're in the passenger seat or the backseat?

Today is National Seat Belt Day, a day dedicated to encouraging everyone to wear their seat belts.

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I was young when New Jersey's seat belt law went into effect in 1985, and remember my parents constantly having to remind me to buckle up as soon as I got in the car.

It was a new law at the time and not something we were all accustomed to.

Fast forward to today and it's automatic with recent statistics highlighting just how ingrained the habit of wearing a seat belt has become for many of us while in the car.

CANVA

Seat Belt Use Statistic

A recent report by BakeRate.com shows seat belt use is at an all-time high in the United States.

So what percentage of people use a seat belt?

Photo by Maxim Hopman on Unsplash

92% of front-seat passengers use seat belts during an average trip during the day.

That's a 0.3% increase from the year before.

Car crashes remain the leading cause of death for people aged 1 to 54, but seat belts have been proven to save lives and reduce the severity of injuries each year.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that nearly 41,000 people have died in car crashes so far this year, down about 3.6% as compared to 42,514 deaths reported to have occurred the year before.