U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta announced last week that a record 80% of Americans wear safety belts while driving or riding in their vehicles.

In the past four years, safety belt use has increased steadily from 71% in 2000 to 80% this year. The 80% safety belt usage will save 15,200 lives and $50 billion in economic costs associated with traffic-related crashes, injuries and deaths every year, Mineta said.
The secretary said the success was due in large part to states that have passed primary safety belt laws. Twenty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have primary safety belt laws that allow police officers to stop a motorist solely for not wearing a safety belt.
"It's no coincidence that because 8 out of 10 Americans are wearing their safety belts, we have also achieved the lowest traffic fatality rate on our nation's highways since record-keeping began 29 years ago," Mineta said.
Today's traffic fatality rate is 1.48 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled, a dramatic reduction since 1975 when the rate was 3.35 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.