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Florida Traffic Safety Facts
- Florida’s safety belt usage rate for drivers and
front seat passengers in 1999 is 59. percent. This is based on a random
observational survey of 43,042 vehicles at 351 randomly selected signaled
intersections and freeway exits in 13 counties. The "1999 Survey of
Safety Belt and Child Restraint Use in Florida" is periodically
conducted by Florida State University for the Florida State Safety Office.
- Child safety seat use for children under the age of 6
years, from the same observational survey described above, is 61.3 percent.
- The counties participating in the survey and the
results are as follows:
| County |
% Seat Belt
USE-Front Seat |
Total # of Observations |
% Child Safety
Seat Use |
| Brevard |
65.7 |
4,604 |
58.7 |
| Broward |
55.1 |
2,453 |
71.0 |
| Dade |
57.6 |
2,056 |
60.0 |
| Escambia |
60.4 |
2,257 |
74.6 |
| Hillsborough |
56.8 |
4,105 |
47.2 |
| Leon |
57.6 |
3,055 |
57.7 |
| Marion |
55.5 |
4,062 |
45.3 |
| Orange |
66.5 |
3,018 |
70.3 |
| Palm
Beach |
57.4 |
2,369 |
61.6 |
| Pasco |
58.9 |
4,126 |
67.2 |
| Pinellas |
60.7 |
4,737 |
62.3 |
| Polk |
53.6 |
3,837 |
55.5 |
| Volusia |
59.8 |
2,363 |
83.7 |
| Total |
58.7 |
|
61.3 |
- Driver safety belt use was highest among white females
60 years and older in vans, SUVs and cars. Driver safety belt use was lowest
among minority males 16-59 years of age in light trucks, vans and cars.
- Front-seat passenger safety belt use was highest in
white females 60 years and older in cars, SUVs and vans, and usage was
lowest among minority males 16-59 years of age in light trucks and vans, and
among white males 16-59 years of age in light trucks.
- It is estimated by the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, that if Florida enacted a primary enforcement safety belt
law, 200 lives and 6,134 injuries would be saved the first year. This
represents $385,106,679 in dollars that could be saved.
- In 1998, there were 2,889 traffic fatalities in
Florida, a 2.7% increase from 1997. There were 149,315 traffic injury
crashes in 1998, a .68% increase as compared to 1997.
- 862 deaths or 29.8% of all traffic fatalities in 1998
were alcohol-related.
- 60.1% of all crashes occurred in primarily business
areas, while 57.8% of fatal crashes were in open country or residential
areas.
- The "top ten" Florida counties with the
highest number of motor vehicle fatalities are Dade, Broward, Hillsborough,
Orange, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Duval, Volusia and Lee.
| Sources: |
- 1999 Observational Survey of
Safety Belt and Child Restraint Use in Florida
- NHSTA "Crash Costs"
Program
- 1998 Traffic Crash Facts
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