Table 2-30: Estimated Number of Lives Saved by Occupant Protection, Motorcycle Helmets, and Drinking Age Law
Table 2-30: Estimated Number of Lives Saved by Occupant Protection, Motorcycle Helmets, and Drinking Age Law
| 1975-1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | Total 1975-2003 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Safety beltsa,b | 68,940 | (R) 9,882 | (R) 10,710 | (R) 11,259 | (R) 11,680 | (R) 11,941 | (R) 12,882 | (R) 13,295 | 14,264 | 14,903 | 179,756 |
| Air bags | 730 | (R) 536 | (R) 783 | (R) 973 | (R) 1,208 | (R) 1,491 | (R) 1,716 | (R) 1,978 | 2,324c | 2,488 | 11,903 |
| Motorcycle helmets | (R) 15,077 | (R) 624 | (R) 617 | (R) 862 | (R) 660 | (R) 745 | (R) 872 | (R) 947 | (R) 992 | 1,158 | (R) 22,554 |
| Age 21 minimum legal drinking age | 14,816 | 851 | 846 | 846 | 861 | 901 | 922 | 927 | 922 | 906 | 22,798 |
| Child restraints | 3,107 | (R) 408 | (R) 480 | (R) 444 | (R) 438 | (R) 447 | (R) 479 | (R) 388 | 383 | 446 | 7,020 |
KEY: R = revised.
a Represents all adults and children age 5 and older. Data are for passenger vehicles and light trucks, which include cars, vans, pickups, and sports utility vehicles. Excludes medium and heavy trucks.
b In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revised its method for estimating lives saved by safety belts. The previous method included survey data from states with and without belt use laws. The current method relies on police-reported restraint use information for each individual occupant fatality. Also, the estimate now includes lives saved in passenger vehicles at all seating positions, where previously it had been front outboard positions only.
c In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revised the method for calculating lives saved by air bags.
SOURCES
Motorcycle helmets:
1975-2001: U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2001: Motorcycles, DOT HS 809 473 (Washington, DC: 2002) and personal communication, Apr. 5, 2000.
2002: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2002: Motorcycles, DOT HS 809 609 (Washington, DC: 2003), Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html as of Sep. 21, 2004.
2003: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2003: Motorcycles, DOT HS 809 764 (Washington, DC: 2004), Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html as of Sept. 21, 2004 and personal communication Nov. 21, 2004.
Minimum drinking age:
1975-2001: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2001: Alcohol, DOT HS 809 470 (Washington, DC: 2002), and personal communication, Apr. 5, 2000.
2002-03: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2003: Young Drivers, DOT HS 809 774 (Washington, DC: 2004), Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html as of Sept. 21, 2004.
Occupant protection:
1975-2001: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2001: Occupant Protection, DOT HS 809 474 (Washington, DC: 2002) and personal communication, Apr. 5, 2000.
2002: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2002: Occupant Protection, DOT 809 610 (Washington, DC: 2003), Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html as of Sept. 21, 2004.
2003: Ibid., Traffic Safety Fact Sheet 2003: Occupant Protection, DOT 809 765 (Washington, DC: 2004) , Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/AvailInf.html as of Sept. 21, 2004.