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AHRQ shares seatbelt-use stats

Physician Practice Advisor, December 29, 2004

Men between the ages of 19 and 29 are the group least likely to wear seat belts and are three times as likely not to use their seat belts as women of the same age, according to a new study from the Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

The data, from AHRQ's 2002 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, show that 88% of people between 16 and 64 years of age always or nearly always use seat belts. However, a little more than 5% of people ages 16 to 64 never or seldom use their seat belts, and another 7% use their seat belts only sometimes. The survey also revealed the following:

• Nonstudents ages 19 to 21 are four times as likely not to use their seat belts as students of the same age (12% v. 3%).
• People with only high school education are twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as those with some additional education (almost 8% v. 4%).
• People living in nonmetropolitan areas are more than twice as likely not to wear their seat belts as people living in large metropolitan areas (about 9% v. 4%).

In addition, of all people ages 16 to 64, those ages 16 to 18 were the group least likely to drive or ride in a car without their seat belts. Only about 3% of girls and 4% of boys were reported to have never used their seat belts.

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