Alarming statistics released by the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) show that people aren’t wearing their safety belts out on the road.
From 2019 to 2021, the seat belt user rate decreased almost 2% from 94.4% to 92.6%.
“Every one percent decrease is another 10 fatalities and another 100 injuries,” said Michigan State Police Lt. Derrick Carroll.
Traffic safety advocates say seat belts are the cornerstone of effective traffic safety, and can have a devastating effect if people don’t wear them.
This comes after traffic related deaths peaked above 1,000 for the first time in three years in 2020, according to the Michigan State Police Criminal Justice Information Center.
“We need to get that number back up,” said Lt. Carroll. “Through education and enforcement, we hope that people get the message that we can reduce the number of fatalities on our roadways.”
OHSP is running a statewide campaign through July 24 to enforce safety belt use.
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