96.4% of state drivers buckle up for safety

Washington state continues to have one of the highest rates of seat-belt use in the country with 96.4 percent of drivers buckling up, according to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

That is a slight dip from the 96.5 percent reported last year, making Washington second in the country in seat-belt usage behind Michigan's 97.2 percent, according to the commission, based on 2008 surveys.

When seat-belt violations were a secondary offense, meaning drivers couldn't be pulled over simply for not wearing seat belts, usage was about 82 percent, said Jonna VanDyk, with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission. But when the offense became a primary one in 2002, so drivers could be stopped for not wearing their seat belts, usage soared.

Records indicate the seat-belt law saves about 85 lives a year in Washington, VanDyk said.

"Increases in seat-belt use have contributed strongly to drops in traffic deaths in Washington," said Lowell Porter, director of the commission. "There was a 31 percent drop in vehicle-occupant deaths from 1986 to 2008, while vehicle-miles traveled increased 34 percent over this same time period."

In 1986, when Washington first adopted the seat-belt law, seat-belt use was at 36 percent and there were 528 vehicle-occupant deaths, compared with 362 such deaths in 2008.

The commission's study shows that the highest seat-belt usage in the state is in Cowlitz County, where 98.9 percent of drivers are belted. Clark County is second with 98.8 percent, and King has 98.6 percent. The lowest seat-belt use in the state is in Stevens County, at 91.9 percent.

The 2009 seat-belt survey was conducted statewide in July on state, county and local roads using volunteers at 500 locations. It lasted 40 minutes, and almost 90,000 vehicle drivers and passengers were observed.

Surveyors were asked to look for shoulder harnesses on the drivers and front-seat passengers. It wasn't possible to observe lap belts.

The survey found that seat-belt use was lower on city streets and county roads, 93.2 percent, compared to 97.3 percent on interstate highways. Seat-belt use was lowest when vehicles were traveling at lower speeds.

Studies conducted in Washington show that medical costs from crashes amount to more than $276 million each year in Washington. An unbelted vehicle occupant's medical costs average $11,000 more per collision than those of a belted vehicle occupant's, according to the traffic-safety commission. The report shows that seat-belt use is highest for people in passenger vehicles (96.8 percent) and SUVs (97.3 percent), with vans rating third (95.5 percent) and pickups at (94.5 percent).

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com