U.S. Department of Transportation printed on recycled paper

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Technology Transfer Series

Number 136 September 1996

PUBLIC SUPPORTS TRAFFIC SAFETY LAWS AND 

THEIR ACTIVE ENFORCEMENT

Legislation and its active enforcement are proven

components of successful traffic safety programs. Yet

forceful action in these areas is sometimes resisted

because of concerns about imposing requirements on

the public. According to the results of a recent

national telephone survey, the public strongly

supports a broad array of traffic safety laws.

More than 8,000 people in all 50 states and the

District of Columbia participated in a national

telephone survey conducted for the National Highway

Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). There were

two questionnaires, each given to 

about 4,000 randomly selected persons age 16 and

older. One questionnaire focused on safety belt usage

and issues. The other focused on child safety seats. 

They also contained sections on crash experience,

bicycle and motorcycle helmet usage, airbags,

drinking and driving, and speed. Data were weighted

to national estimates.

84 Percent Favor Safety Belt Laws the public. About three quarters favor strict

More than four fifths (84 percent) of the public favor

laws that require both drivers and front seat

passengers to wear safety belts, with 64 percent

favoring such laws a lot. Most believe that the laws

should apply to passengers riding in the back seat as

well. They consider fines generally to be an

appropriate method of punishment for ignoring the

safety belt laws, and the fines should become more

severe for repeat offenders. They recommended an

average fine of $50 for a first offense and $118 for

repeat violations. There was less support for attaching

points to the drivers license as a penalty.

Strong State Laws are Better Known

People who live in states that have a strong belt law

are much more likely to know correctly what the law

entails. For example, 76 percent of those living in

states that require the driver and all passengers to

wear a belt accurately report this to be the case. In

contrast, in states where belt use is mandated only for

those in the front seat, just 52 percent are correct. 

Similarly, people who live in states with primary

enforcement, where an officer can stop a vehicle

solely for a safety belt violation, were more likely to

be correct (76 percent). About half of those who live

in states with secondary enforcement, where an

officer must first stop the vehicle for some other

reason, were correct 

(48 percent).

Strong Support for Protecting Children

Laws that protect children have strong support from

enforcement of car seat laws. They recommend fines

for car seat violations that are substantially higher

than safety belt violations, averaging $126. When

children become too large for a car seat, the public

overwhelmingly agrees that they should be required

to wear safety belts.

Bicycle Helmet Laws Favored

Laws requiring children to wear bicycle helmets are

relatively recent, but already enjoy widespread

support. Most (79 percent) of the public favor these

laws. Another 3 percent support bicycle helmet laws

in specific circumstances or for specific ages of

children covered by the law.
70 Percent Think the 55 mph Speed Limit Strong Support for Motorcycle Helmet Laws

is Just Right

Most people readily admit that they speed at least a

little on highways with a posted limit of 55 mph. But

this does not mean they want the speed limit raised. 

At the time the survey was conducted, just before

states assumed responsibility for establishing speed

limits on all roadways, 70 percent of the public

considered most highway speed limits to be about

right. Three percent considered them too high, and 25

percent thought that the speed limits were too low.

In general, do you think most 

highway speed limits 

are too low, too high, or about right?

Laws requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets evoke

a level of support akin to that for children’s bike

helmet laws -- 82 percent of the general public favor

them. Even among motorcyclists, the majority (62

percent) favor mandatory usage of helmets.

HOW TO ORDER

Limited copies of the Motor Vehicle Occupant

Safety Survey, prepared by Schulman, Ronca, and

Bucuvalas, Inc. are available. Write to the Office of

Program Development and Evaluation, NHTSA,

NTS-30, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, DC 

20590, or send a FAX to (202) 366-7096. 

For those of you ordering this report, this is the same

report announced in TRAFFIC TECH No. 117, March

1996, National Survey of Occupant Protection

Reveals Lapses in Belt Use. Alan Block was the

contract manager for this project.

U.S. Department 

of Transportation

National Highway 

Traffic Safety 

Administration

400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-33

Washington, DC 20590

TRAFFIC TECH is a publication to disseminate 

information about traffic safety programs, 

including evaluations, innovative programs, 

and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish. 

If you would like to receive a copy contact:

Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor, Evaluation Staff

Traffic Safety Programs

(202) 366-2759, fax (202) 366-7096

E-MAIL: lcosgrove@nhtsa.dot.gov