Idaho Lags At 44th In Seat Belt Usage Only 54 Percent Of State’s Motorists Buckle Up; Clinton Pushes Increased Use

The Clinton administration is campaigning to increase national seat belt use from 68 percent to 85 percent by 2000.

Reaching that goal would save 4,000 lives, prevent 100,000 injuries and save billions of dollars in medical costs each year, said Dr. Ricardo Martinez, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

But a lot of ground must be covered. Government figures show seat beat use at or above 85 percent in only California and New Mexico last year, while 30 states, including Idaho, were below 68 percent.

In fact, at 54 percent, Idaho was lower than all but six states and the lowest in the region. Utah was next at 60 percent, while the other five bordering states were above 70 percent.

More than 40,000 people die annually in automobile crashes, and 60 percent of them are not wearing seat belts or using child restraints, safety officials said.

“Far too many of these tragedies could be prevented,” President Clinton said Monday in a message broadcast to more than 80 business, medical, academic, government and law enforcement sites around the nation.

Seat belts now save about 9,500 lives annually, the government estimates.

The strategy for increasing usage hinges on changing personal behavior and societal attitudes. Officials say riding unbuckled in autos must become unacceptable in the United States, much as drunken driving is.

Transportation officials also say they want states to enact tougher seat belt laws and then enforce them. They want increased fines and penalty points on a driver’s record for those failing to buckle up.

That’s because educational efforts or fear of injury do not influence some tough-to-reach motorists who often do not buckle up, including young men 16 to 25 years old.

But the federal government can only prod states to act by encouraging efforts of seat belt education and enforcement among police, medical groups, businesses and others.

Only 13 states and the District of Columbia allow law enforcement officers to pull over and ticket motorists solely because an adult passenger or driver is not wearing a seat belt. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration officials say seat belt usage in those states is about 15 percentage points above the rate in other states.

All other states except New Hampshire allow seat belt ticketing only after a motorist is stopped for another offense.

Highway bills in Congress would allow grants for states that increase use of seat belts or enact tougher laws. But the bills do not contain sanctions asked by the Clinton administration. xxxx

This sidebar appeared with the story: SEAT BELT USE Seat belt use rates by percentage in Western states for 1996, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Alaska 69 Arizona 56 California 87 Colorado 56 Hawaii 80 Idaho 54 Montana 73 Nevada 71 New Mexico 85 North Dakota 43 Oregon 82 South Dakota 47 Utah 60 Washington 84 Wyoming 72