Seat belts save lives. It’s a message millions of Americans have taken to heart over the last decade. Our team of analysts found that seat belt use has increased by as much as 17% in some states over the last decade. However, we also found that seat belt use is declining in some states. This decline is concerning because nearly half of all traffic fatalities involve someone who wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

Key findings:

  • Montana, Rhode Island and Arkansas have had the highest increases in seat belt usage.
  • Seat belt use in Mississippi, Texas and Washington has declined since 2012.
  • Nearly 50% of fatal crashes involve someone not wearing a seat belt.
  • Hawaii, California, Georgia and Oregon have the highest seat belt usage of any state.

Changes in seat belt use

Montana, Washington and New Hampshire are the three states that really stand out when it comes to changes in seat belt use over the last decade. Montana has seen the largest increase at 17%. Washington has seen the largest decrease at 4%. And seat belt use in New Hampshire remains stubbornly low. Only 71% of people in New Hampshire wear a seat belt, and that’s after a 3% increase that began in 2012.

Changes in seat belt use in each state
State Seat belt use in 2019 % change since 2012
Montana 89% 17%
Rhode Island 88% 14%
Arkansas 82% 14%
South Dakota 75% 13%
Wisconsin 90% 13%
Massachusetts 82% 12%
Missouri 88% 10%
Louisiana 88% 10%
Arizona 91% 10%
Utah 90% 10%
Tennessee 92% 10%
Colorado 88% 9%
Virginia 85% 9%
Idaho 86% 8%
Connecticut 94% 8%
West Virginia 90% 7%
Kentucky 90% 7%
Alaska 94% 7%
Kansas 85% 7%
Pennsylvania 89% 6%
Vermont 89% 6%
Delaware 93% 5%
Maine 89% 5%
Ohio 86% 5%
Georgia 96% 4%
New York 94% 4%
Nevada 94% 4%
Hawaii 97% 4%
North Dakota 84% 3%
Alabama 92% 3%
New Hampshire 71% 3%
Florida 90% 3%
Iowa 95% 2%
New Jersey 90% 2%
Wyoming 78% 2%
Nebraska 80% 1%
Indiana 95% 1%
Oklahoma 85% 1%
North Carolina 88% 1%
Michigan 94% 1%
Illinois 94% 1%
California 96% 1%
New Mexico 92% 0%
Minnesota 93% 0%
South Carolina 90% 0%
Maryland 90% -1%
Oregon 96% -1%
Mississippi 81% -3%
Texas 91% -3%
Washington 93% -4%

Seat belt use in each state

Hawaii currently has the highest percentage of people who wear seat belts. But if we look at average seat belt use since 2012, nearly 97% of Oregon residents have been wearing seat belts. New Hampshire has the lowest current and average seat belt use, followed by South Dakota and Wyoming.

States with the highest seat belt use
State Current seat belt use Average seat belt use since 2012
U.S. average 91% 89%
Hawaii 97% 95%
California 96% 96%
Georgia 96% 96%
Oregon 96% 97%
Indiana 95% 93%
Iowa 95% 93%
Michigan 94% 94%
Illinois 94% 94%
New York 94% 92%
Nevada 94% 92%
Alaska 94% 90%
Connecticut 94% 89%
Minnesota 93% 94%
Washington 93% 95%
Delaware 93% 91%
Alabama 92% 93%
Tennessee 92% 88%
New Mexico 92% 92%
Texas 91% 91%
Arizona 91% 86%
Maryland 90% 91%
South Carolina 90% 91%
Wisconsin 90% 86%
Utah 90% 86%
West Virginia 90% 88%
New Jersey 90% 91%
Florida 90% 89%
Kentucky 90% 87%
Vermont 89% 85%
Montana 89% 79%
Pennsylvania 89% 85%
Maine 89% 86%
North Carolina 88% 90%
Rhode Island 88% 86%
Colorado 88% 84%
Missouri 88% 82%
Louisiana 88% 85%
Ohio 86% 84%
Idaho 86% 82%
Virginia 85% 81%
Kansas 85% 83%
Oklahoma 85% 85%
North Dakota 84% 81%
Arkansas 82% 77%
Massachusetts 82% 77%
Mississippi 81% 79%
Nebraska 80% 81%
Wyoming 78% 81%
South Dakota 75% 73%
New Hampshire 71% 71%

How many lives are saved by seat belts each year

People who don’t wear seat belts are significantly more likely to be involved in fatal crashes. Nationwide, nearly 44% of fatal crashes involve someone not wearing a seat belt. New Hampshire, Missouri and Montana have the highest percentages of unstrained fatalities. Utah, Minnesota and Oregon have the lowest percentages of unrestrained fatalities and some of the highest rates of seat belt use. Not counted in the totals below are the number of lives saved because someone one was wearing a seat belt. It’s estimated that seat belts save around 15,000 lives a year.

Seat belt use and fatalities
State Total fatalities in 2019 Unrestrained fatalities % of total fatalities where person was unrestrained
New Hampshire 61 38 62%
Missouri 580 343 59%
Montana 118 67 57%
Mississippi 504 276 55%
Virginia 564 303 54%
South Dakota 72 38 53%
Alabama 676 355 53%
Rhode Island 35 18 51%
Colorado 379 193 51%
Louisiana 460 234 51%
Kentucky 529 265 50%
Massachusetts 198 97 49%
Idaho 168 82 49%
Ohio 789 382 48%
Maine 104 50 48%
Pennsylvania 671 322 48%
Oklahoma 443 212 48%
South Carolina 634 302 48%
Nebraska 191 90 47%
Arkansas 351 165 47%
Vermont 32 15 47%
North Dakota 69 32 46%
Arizona 469 216 46%
Alaska 48 22 46%
North Carolina 897 408 45%
Wyoming 107 48 45%
Tennessee 781 346 44%
Kansas 318 138 43%
West Virginia 169 72 43%
Florida 1,605 669 42%
Connecticut 137 57 42%
New Jersey 263 109 41%
New Mexico 254 104 41%
Indiana 561 223 40%
Iowa 239 95 40%
Illinois 648 253 39%
Georgia 995 386 39%
Texas 2,325 892 38%
Wisconsin 379 144 38%
Maryland 298 108 36%
New York 442 154 35%
Nevada 158 55 35%
Hawaii 46 16 35%
Washington 305 105 34%
Delaware 72 24 33%
California 1,909 624 33%
Michigan 647 209 32%
Utah 148 47 32%
Minnesota 239 75 31%
Oregon 319 89 28%
U.S. average 22,406* 9,567* 44%
The numbers shown here represent only daytime fatalities where authorities were able to decisively determine if someone was wearing a seat belt. The total number of fatalities in the calendar year used was 36,096.

Seat belt laws in each state

Seat belt laws are divided into two groups: primary and secondary. A primary seat belt law means that a law enforcement officer can ticket a driver or passenger for not wearing a seat belt without any other violation taking place. A secondary seat belt law, means that you or your passenger can be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt, but only after getting pulled over for another traffic violation.

We found 34 states that have primary seat belt laws, 15 states that have secondary seat belt laws and one state (New Hampshire) that has no seat belt law. These laws mainly apply to people sitting in the front seat but some states also have seat belt laws for passengers in the back seat. Many seat belt laws also depend on a person’s age.

Seat belt laws by state
State Seat belt law
Alabama Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
Alaska Primary - all occupants
Arizona Secondary - front seat only
Arkansas Primary - front seat only
California Primary - all occupants
Colorado Secondary - front seat only
Connecticut Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
Delaware Primary - all occupants
Florida Primary - front seat only
Georgia Primary - front seat only
Hawaii Primary - all occupants
Idaho Secondary - all occupants
Illinois Primary - all occupants
Indiana Primary - all occupants
Iowa Primary - front seat only
Kansas Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
Kentucky Primary - all occupants
Louisiana Primary - all occupants
Maine Primary - all occupants
Maryland Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
Massachusetts Secondary - all occupants
Michigan Primary - front seat only
Minnesota Primary - all occupants
Mississippi Primary - all occupants
Missouri Secondary - front seat only
Montana Secondary - all occupants
Nebraska Secondary - front seat only
Nevada Secondary - all occupants
New Hampshire No seat belt laws
New Jersey Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
New Mexico Primary - all occupants
New York Primary - all occupants
North Carolina Primary front seat, secondary rear seat
North Dakota Secondary - front seat only
Ohio Secondary - front seat only
Oklahoma Primary - front seat only
Oregon Primary - all occupants
Pennsylvania Secondary - front seat only
Rhode Island Primary - all occupants
South Carolina Primary - all occupants
South Dakota Secondary - front seat only
Tennessee Primary - front seat only
Texas Primary - all occupants
Utah Primary - all occupants
Vermont Secondary - all occupants
Virginia Secondary - front seat only
Washington Primary - all occupants
West Virginia Primary - front seat only
Wisconsin Primary - all occupants
Wyoming Secondary - all occupants

Overall, seat belt use is improving across the United States. Nationwide, seat belt use is up 3%, and 10 states have improved their seat belt use by 10% or more. There is still work to be done, however: Seat belt use in New Hampshire and parts of the midwest remain stubbornly low, despite those areas having some of the highest rates of unrestrained fatalities. Traffic fatalities reached a 13-year high in 2020; drivers will need to slow down and buckle up if we want to reduce this deadly trend.

Bodily injury limits and seat belt usage

Car crashes without seat belts lead to more serious injuries, expensive medical bills and more time away from work. But even if you always "click it" before driving, the other driver and passengers you're involved in a crash with may not. You want to make sure your bodily injury (BI) limits are high enough to cover even the most expensive third-party medical bills and lost wages.

According to the CDC, in 2010 non-fatal crash injuries to drivers and passengers resulted in over $48 billion in lifetime medical and work-loss costs. Bodily injury liability covers medical bills for any third-party injuries resulting from a car accident you're at-fault for. It also covers legal fees if you're sued by someone injured in the accident. If you're at-fault for an accident, you're legally responsible for paying if someone is injured, and that cost will likely be higher if they weren't wearing a seatbelt. You're required to at least carry your state's minimum BI limits, but if you can, you should purchase higher limits.

Methodology

QuoteWizard used seat belt and traffic fatality data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine seat belt use and traffic fatalities in each state. We then compared seat belt use from 2012 to 2019 to determine the percentage increase/decrease in use.

The number of unrestrained fatalities was compiled using data from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

References:

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