Vermonts seat belt use rate has remained consistently at or above the national average' However, eve

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Vermont Safety Facts
January 2009
Vermonts seat belt use rate has remained
consistently at or above the national
average.However, even at 87.3 use, over 78,000
Vermonters still are not buckling up.
NHTSA estimates that if Vermont were to pass a
primary seat belt law, belt usage could rise by
approximately 5 percentage points.
In 2000, crashes cost Vermont 221 million
About 362 for each resident

• With a primary seat belt law, each year Vermont
  would save about
• 2 lives
• 12 serious injuries
• 5 million in costs
• (Based on a 5.1 percentage point increase from
  the 2008 VT seat belt use rate.)

Although Vermont is now eligible for a SAFETEA-LU
incentive grant based on its seat belt
performance, primary seat belt laws can further
increase seat belt use even in states with high
belt use and can help states experience a
decrease in traffic related injuries and
fatalities.
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95.5 of Vermonts motor vehicle traffic
fatalities are in rural areas. The fatality
rate in rural areas is more than 7 times higher
than the rate in urban locations. Source
2007 FARS Data
53 of Vermonts passenger vehicle occupant
fatalities are in passenger cars. Source 2007
FARS Data
In Vermont, a much larger percentage of SUV
fatalities are unrestrained compared to passenger
car fatalities. Source 2007 FARS Data
85 of nighttime fatalities are unrestrained in
Vermont compared to 32 of daytime
fatalities. Source 2007 FARS Data