The Increase in Lives Saved, Injuries Prevented, and Cost Savings if Seat Belt Use Rose to at Least 90 Percent in All States¹

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[National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The increase in lives saved, injuries prevented, and cost savings if seat belt use rose to at least 90 percent in all states. Ann Emerg Med. 2009;54:837.]

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has examined the potential increase in lives saved, injuries prevented, and cost savings that would be realized if seat belt use hypothetically increased to at least 90% in all states.

Estimates of lives saved and injuries prevented are based on 2007 seat belt usage rates as reported by the National Occupant Protection Usage Survey and published estimates of seat belt effectiveness. Estimates of cost savings include productivity losses, medical costs, rehabilitation costs, legal and court costs, emergency services (such as medical, police, and fire services), insurance administration costs, and the costs to employers. Values for more intangible consequences such as physical pain or lost quality of life are not included. A more detailed description of the methodology can be found in the report The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2000.² Estimates of lives saved and total cost savings (in 2007 dollars) were also computed according to actual belt usage rates in each state.

Seat belts saved an estimated 15,147 lives in 2007, when the estimated belt use was 82%. Currently, 38 states and the District of Columbia had a seat belt use rate below 90% in 2007. If usage rates in these states were increased to 90%, an estimated 1,652 additional lives could have been saved, and nearly 40,000 more nonfatal injuries would have been prevented, resulting in cost savings of about $5.2 billion. If seat belt use reached 100%, a total of 5,024 lives would have been saved, according to data from 2007. Nearly one third (32.9%) of these 5,024 potential lives saved would be achieved with each state improving its seat belt use to 90%. According to 2007 belt use data, it is estimated that seat belt usage resulted in savings of 15,147 lives and $74.4 billion.

More than 50% of the total benefits in lives saved (842 of the total of 1,652 lives saved), nonfatal injuries prevented (22,677 of the total of 39,486 nonfatal injuries), and cost savings ($3.0 billion of the total of $5.2 billion) would come from states that currently do not have “primary enforcement” seat belt laws. An increase in seat belt use up to 90% would have saved in excess of $200 million each in 11 states in 2007, including Florida ($605 million), Massachusetts ($420 million), New York ($353 million), Ohio ($319 million), Louisiana ($274 million), Virginia ($262 million), Kentucky ($253 million), South Carolina ($247 million), Missouri ($239 million), Wisconsin ($221 million), and Tennessee ($208 million).

Copies of the 4-page Research Note The Increase in Lives Saved, Injuries Prevented, and Cost Savings if Seat Belt Use Rose to at Least 90 Percent in All States can be obtained from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis, NHTSA,1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20590 or downloaded from the NHTSA Web site at http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811140.PDF.

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References 

1. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The Increase in Lives Saved, Injuries Prevented, and Cost Savings if Seat Belt Use Rose to at Least 90 Percent in All States. Washington, DC: US Dept of Transportation; 2008;Report No. DOT HS 811 140
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2. Blincoe LJ, Sea AG, Zaloshnja E, et al. The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes 2000. Washington, DC: US Dept of Transportation; 2002;Report No. DOT HS 889 446. May be downloaded at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/809446.PDF
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