Jim McVay, Dr. The estimated safety belt usage rate was 71 percent, a 22 percent increase from the 1999 survey result of just 58 percent. Child restraint usage rates increased by 28 percent, rising from 60 percent in 1999 to 77 percent in 2000.
Safety belts save lives.
Remember, every time, every trip, every day, buckle up. It's the law. This puts Alabama directly in line with the national average for the first time ever, and we attribute this increase to enforcement of the primary seat belt law. Surveyors began seeing the positive effects of the law last January. During 1999 the Alabama Legislature enacted legislation which made failure to wear safety belts a primary offense.