Troopers: Washington state tops seat belt use in nation
SEATTLE (AP) - A federal survey suggests that Washington state has the highest use of seat belts among drivers in the country.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ranked Washington at 97.5 percent seat belt usage in 2011. The lowest was Massachusetts at 73.2 percent of usage. The national average was 84 percent.
The Washington State Patrol says it's the seventh year in a row Washington has score 95 percent or higher.
The survey also found that Western states in general have higher seat belt usage than other regions of the country. All Western states combined had 93 percent seat belt usage, compared with 80 percent in the Northeast, 83 percent in the Midwest and 80 percent in the South.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ranked Washington at 97.5 percent seat belt usage in 2011. The lowest was Massachusetts at 73.2 percent of usage. The national average was 84 percent.
The Washington State Patrol says it's the seventh year in a row Washington has score 95 percent or higher.
The survey also found that Western states in general have higher seat belt usage than other regions of the country. All Western states combined had 93 percent seat belt usage, compared with 80 percent in the Northeast, 83 percent in the Midwest and 80 percent in the South.
Anyone ever wonder "Why do we drive on a parkway and park on a driveway"?
Good to know that the worst drivers in the nation are buckled up...
Great, now start enforcing the REAL problems on the road, like people following too closely, illegal lane changes, , driving while on their cellphone, driving while do anything other than driving (reading the newspaper, shaving, writing on a notepad, etc) driving erratically, failure to maintain speed, people driving under the limit in the left lane, people failing to yield to traffic flow while they merge onto the freeway at 35mph which causes traffic jams in the right lane etc. Â
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Seriously, start ticketing for the above offenses and I guarantee that Washington State will stop being one of the worst driver states in the country.
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Well of course, with the most aggressive ticketing campaign in the country that took MILLIONS and MILLIONS out of the pockets of citizens across the entire state these numbers make sense.Â
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Unfortunately all this money went into the pockets of the cops, judges and politicians who see prosecuting us all as a way to guarantee their own job security.Â
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You think these southern states are corrupt with their judicial system? Â People are waking up to whats going on in Washington State.Â
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 @Andrew Bush All that money saved a lot of lives.
 @here_I_go_again  @Andrew Bush It only saved people from themselves.  It didn't actually stop the accidents from happening in the first place. Â
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Washington State LOVES to try and fix the Result, but to ignore the Cause. Â
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If they really wanted to make the roads safer, they'd spend all that money on creating mandatory driving classes for people who want their driver's licenses, and then create bi-yearly testing or something along those lines. Â Education is the key, but it has to start at the beginning, not the end. Â
 @Landshark "Washington State LOVES to try and fix the Result, but to ignore the Cause."Yesss! This ^^^^Â
 @Andrew Bush I wonder if people in other states are as paranoid as you.
How does our high seat belt usage correlate to accident statistics I wonder. Â It seems a logical questions for this article to deal with... or not.
 @newsie http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbeltbrief/index.html
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I couldn't find anything specific to Washington state, but this is informative:
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/811153.PDF
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Now if we can get people to put down the cell phones! I swear, if I look at 10 cars at a traffic light 50% of them are yacking or texting away! I highly doubt it's being enforced very well. State Patrol seems to enforce it OK but not so much the city or county police.
Maybe it's too much paperwork.
 @Obummer Yes!! I agree. Emphasis should be placed on enforcing the law when it comes to texting while driving instead of whether a person is wearing a seat belt or not.
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The person texting driving down the road is a threat to my life ...NOT the person not wearing a seat belt.Â
The roads are crazy here so you have to wear a seat belt. I will not understand why there is a hill that you should do 40 mph down is mark at 25 mph, you have to pretty much ride your breaks down the hill and pray that the car be hide your has good breaks and they won't go out. Plus our highways are mark at 55 mph and there is stop lights all over them. Then of course when I first move to this state I will be on a road that is 35 mph and come to a stop sign and turn on a road that is 55. I would get on that road doing 35 because nothing would be posted. So many people got up on me and hit there breaks and I was almost in a couple of wrecks due to that. I really do not think that the people are bad drivers around here just that the roads make no sense and really confuse people.
Wish we could repeal the seatbelt law. Its another one of those unconstitutional laws that is none of the governments business. Think I will file for an exemption on medical grounds. Of course then I will be pulled over all the time because the cops will think I'm breaking the law.
 @Blindman I agree in that the government shouldn't have to legislate common sense to the degree that it does now. Too many idiots have to be told now that doing something or not doing something is dangerous these days.
 @Blindman http://abcnews.go.com/US/york-rider-dies-protesting-motorcycle-helmet-law/story?id=13993417#.UHpLZG_R6P0
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Blindman, You Too could be Famous!
 @Blindman What possible good reason could you have to not wear a seat belt?
 @Blindman When you get ejected from your vehicle we won't waste time trying to resuscitate you because we knew you had a death wish.
 @Blindman Good luck repealing the seat belt law in the liberal state of Washington. The state Supreme Court ruled it constitutional back when Gary Locke was governor.
Um, which Amendment in the Bill of Rights, exactly, is this law violating?
Washington state has the worst drivers in the nation as well. 97.5% of us better be wearing our seatbelts if we want any chance of surviving these roads.
 @thetruthhurts I once thought that Washington drivers are the worst until I started spending time in other locations around the country. Actually, any metropolitan area of significant population and density will appear to have bad drivers. Especially bad are locations where you have a mix of retired folks and those younger people who are always in a hurry and impatient. Impatience exacerbates bad driving and mix that with the leisurely pace of retired people and it's bedlam. I refuse to do a lot of driving in cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Diego, Orlando, and metro areas of Texas. Nowhere in Washington will match those cities in what appear to be bad drivers, in my opinion. And it's not limited to those sunny places ...try driving in Chicago, DC, NY city, Philadelphia, Boston, etc. ...to just name a few. Now, whenever I get back from those areas to the populated areas of western Washington, I always think to myself "gee, Seattle drivers aren't as bad as I always thought."
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And go to less populated areas of Washington and the drivers don't seem that bad at all. Drivers in the Tri Cities, Walla Walla, Bellingham, Aberdeen, etc. don't seem to drive that badly. So no, I don't believe "Washington has the worst drivers in the nation."
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Just my opinion.
 @thetruthhurts I have to agree with this. Whenever I have to drive interstate all over Washington, Im amazed at how many people drive in the fast lane five to ten miles under the speed limit and then get upset when they are appropriately flash signalled (with head lights) or passed if they dont get out of the way.
Don't forget the Canadians that come down here.... God help us all.
 @ButtercupSprinkles US teenagers with their cellphones, rap music,etc are worse than Canadian drivers 10:1 I guarantee you.
@DarkRenegade @thetruthhurts +1000 points. It's amazing how many seem to set up camp in the fast lane around here. I don't see this in Oregon or Calif. and definitely not in Europe. I feel much safer driving on the German Autobahn since you can trust that the drivers there actually know what they are doing.
 @thetruthhurts Aw, man, I don't know. The drivers aren't great but...you should go to the south of the US. The drivers are terrible. I mean, how difficult is it to signal? Your hand is already there...
Likely the highest in the nation in seatbelt ticket revenue aswell.
 @keepitreal citation needed
We're also one of the most educated areas in the country. Funny how that works.Â
 @LeftWing And not Republican. Funny how that works too.Â
@LeftWing -- And apparently one of the most arrogant as well...
 @Jac  @LeftWing Oh, jeez. Don't be a troll.
 @Jac You only say that because his online handle is "LeftWing". Another wingnut insult, what do you know.Â
@alildifferent -- What makes you say that? I'm not trying to be confrontational, I am genuinely curious.
@Jac You actually sound like a 'holier-than-thou' type of person to be honest.
@Ethan Allen @Jac -- Political standing had nothing to do with it. I don't care who he favors or not, I simply get annoyed at anyone who has a "holier-than-thou" attitude. Believe me, that trait exists on both sides of the fence; one side more literally than the other but the mentality is the same either way. I have yet to say anything that would reveal my own political standing anyway so why would you assume I was attacking him on those grounds?
 @Jac  @LeftWing Stating facts is arrogant? I take it you don't wear your seatbelt...
 @LeftWing Not to mention thin-skinned
 @Jac  @LeftWing  I'm actually a Tea Partier with socialist tendencies, with a dash of anarchist, and a sprinkle of devout Catholic thrown in. Hope that helps!
@LeftWing -- Haha. No, actually I'm just being an ass.
 @Jac  @LeftWing You mad bro?
@LeftWing -- Stating a fact can indeed be arrogant but saying âfunny how that worksâ is not stating fact. The irony is that arguing with assumptions makes you look like a fool. Have a nice day.