WKOW 27: Madison, WI Breaking News, Weather and SportsSafety belt use at an all-time high in Wisconsin
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MADISON (WKOW) -- Safety belt use in Wisconsin has reached an all-time high this year with 79 percent of drivers and passengers buckling up.
The survey was done by the State Patrol Bureau of Transportation Safety. Last year, the annual statewide survey showed safety belt use was approximately 73 percent in Wisconsin.
"A 6 percent increase in safety belt use from last year certainly is encouraging. But Wisconsin still lags behind the 84 percent national average for safety belt use," says State Patrol Major Dan Lonsdorf, director of the Bureau of Transportation Safety. "Wisconsin also is far behind neighboring states. Michigan reports a 98 percent safety belt use rate, the highest in the nation. Iowa is at 93 percent, Illinois is at 91 percent, and Minnesota is at 90 percent."
Lonsdorf credits the enactment of a primary safety belt enforcement law in July 2009 as a major contributor to Wisconsin's increase.
Wisconsin also has a significant gender gap in safety belt use. Nearly 80 percent of females buckle up while only 72 percent of males fasten their safety belts.
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