Seatbelt Use Ticks Up in Annual Utah Survey

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Officials with the Utah Department of Public Safety say more people are wearing seatbelts this year than they were a year ago.

The state’s annual seatbelt observational study found 82.4 percent of people riding in vehicles were buckled up, up from 81.9 percent in the 2012 survey.

The agency says people in urban areas were more likely than people in rural areas to wear restraints. Women buckle up more often than men, and people in vans, cars and SUVs wore seatbelts more than people in trucks.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requires states to complete a survey each year. This year’s survey took place in 17 Utah counties and involved more than 20,000 vehicles.

Seatbelt use is dramatically up from 1986, when only 18 percent of motorists buckled up.