There's good news from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today. As reported by the Associated Press, a study (.pdf) released by the agency shows that seat-belt use among U.S. adults is at an all-time high:
About 85% of adults said they wear seat belts in a 2008 survey, up from under 81% in 2002. Only 11% wore them in 1982, before the first state law requiring seat belt use.
The [CDC] also reported Tuesday a decline of more than 15% in non-fatal vehicle crash injuries from 2001 to 2009. The government previously reported traffic fatalities fell in 2009 to 33,808, the lowest number since 1950.
But in a release, CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH, emphasizes that there's still room for improvement:
...About 1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death.
Photo by dylancantwell
