WisDOT MAPSS - Safety - Safety Belt Use - Moving toward minimizing the number of deaths, injuries and crashes on our roadways.
Safety Belt Use - Moving toward minimizing the number of deaths, injuries and crashes on our roadways.Seat belts are an effective tool to both save lives and lessen injury severity for vehicle occupants. The department conducts an annual survey from across the State to measure the seat belt use rate. Our goal is to increase the seat belt usage rate by 2% from the prior five-year rolling average.
Wearing safety belts saves lives. About 50% of all passenger vehicle occupant fatalities in Wisconsin are unbelted. Motorists who do not use safety equipment are 12.3 times more likely to be killed than someone wearing a shoulder and lap belt at the time of a crash.
Consistent safety belt use saves lives and motorists need to be proactive in buckling their safety belts every time, on every trip, to promote their safety and the safety of others. Safety belt use is a law in the state of Wisconsin. Since 2009, it is a primary enforcement law, which means law enforcement officers can pull over and cite a motorist for not wearing a safety belt.
The department promotes safety belt use through education and enforcement. The nationwide Click It or Ticket effort, in conjunction with NHTSA, uses paid advertising and enforcement to promote public awareness. Much of the educational efforts are targeted at younger drivers whose safety belt use is much lower than other age groups. The department also supports car seat fitting stations to ensure that parents and providers are instructed on how to properly install child car seats and booster seats to keep small children safe in vehicles, and trains instructors on safety seat installment.