By AARON CRESPO NewsOK.com
Published: 6/23/2009
Fewer Oklahomans are dying in traffic accidents, and officials are crediting a higher use of seat belts.
Last year, 84.3 percent of Oklahomans used seat belts, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.
That's up 1.2 percent from 2007 and 16.4 percent from 2001.
The national average seat belt compliance rate is 83 percent, although some states have compliance rates nearing 100 percent.
The Highway Safety Office reports that 53.7 percent of motorists who died in traffic accidents in 2007 — the most recent year for which numbers are available — were not wearing seat belts.
Statewide, traffic deaths decreased in 2008 from the previous year and are down so far this year.
"The trend is that as seat-belt compliance increases, fatalities decrease," Oklahoma Highway Patrol Capt. Chris West said. "And that's even with an increase of the total number of collisions that are occurring."
In addition to enforcement of the primary seat-belt law, officials credit awareness campaigns and education with the increase in seat-belt use.
Rural areas tend to have lower compliance rates. People who drive trucks with farm tags are not required to wear seat belts.
Justin Grego, safety director for the Oklahoma Farm Bureau, teaches a defensive driving class to farmers. He said the issue of seat belts always comes up.
"A lot of them tell me, 'I'm just getting on a county road and I'm going four miles from the house or five miles from the house to feed these cows or to check on these cows, and I don't want to put my seat belt on because I'm only going 25 or 30 mph,' " Grego said. "I always tell farmers, 'It's not you; it's the other person that you need to worry about.'
"A lot of the farmers don't think they drive on the interstates enough, but it's not the interstates where we have the most fatal wrecks; it's on these two-lane Oklahoma highways."
By AARON CRESPO NewsOK.com
This is America, not Communist China. If someone wants to drive without a seatbelt, that's their business. What about smoking, drinking, riding motorcyles? We should also outlaw those things? They also kill people.
Spend more time chasing real criminals, and quit hassling drivers so you can make a buck off the fines!!!!
Posted by: brad | July 14, 2009 at 10:04 PM