The West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program (GHSP) announced that West Virginia’s statewide seat belt usage rate is 91.98 percent for 2024. The national average is 91.9 percent in 2023. The previous record for West Virginia seat belt compliance was 93 percent in 2023.
“We want all West Virginians to buckle up and be as safe as possible when they’re on West Virginia roadways,” said Jack McNeely, GHSP Director.
The GHSP’s educational efforts, Click It or Ticket campaigns, and high visibility enforcement have helped to increase West Virginia’s seat belt usage rates since the passage of the primary seat belt law in 2013.
West Virginia’s first statewide seat belt survey, which is required by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), was completed in 1998 with a usage rate of 56.5 percent. An annual survey has been conducted every year since, except 2020, which was waived due to the pandemic. West Virginia’s statewide usage rate has continued to trend upward overall every year since the implementation of a primary seat belt law in 2013. In addition, the number of fatalities and crashes on West Virginia roadways has trended downward since the primary seat belt law went into effect.
To conduct the scientific study, observations were randomly scheduled for all days of the week during daylight hours between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Observers recorded information on vehicle type, driver gender, and the use of seat belts and mobile devices while driving. Information was also collected on front seat passengers. An independent consulting firm has certified the results, ensuring their accuracy and objectivity.
Research has shown that lap and shoulder combination seat belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent when used, and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent according to NHTSA, 2011. Drivers and passengers of light trucks reduce their risk of fatal injury by sixty percent according to Kahane, 2015.
To help drivers and passengers remember the importance of buckling up, the GHSP and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are teaming up for Operation Crash Reduction October 11-14. This effort is focused on Delaware, the District of Columbia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia — a region that sees some of the nation’s highest numbers of traffic crash-induced fatalities during the Columbus Day holiday weekend.
“West Virginia law enforcement officers will be out in full force, ticketing seat belt violators who are caught traveling without a buckled seat belt or transporting unrestrained children,” concluded McNeely.
For more information about seat belts, please visit www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/seat-belts. For more information about the West Virginia Governor’s Highway Safety Program, visit WV Division of Motor Vehicles or call 304-926-2509.
