Mass. Drivers Among Lowest Seat Belt Users in U.S. [POLL]

A recent study conducted at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst suggests that Massachusetts drivers and car passengers are among the lowest in the country for seat belt use.

The study, prepared for the Highway Safety Association, also presented data that found that seatbelt use in the Commonwealth is digressing - with a rate of 73 percent seat-belt users overall, which is slightly down from last year. The survey also noted that the seatbelt rated had dropped 3.6 percent in teens, from last year.

Among the areas surveyed, the study found that in Massachusetts:

• Drivers of commercial trucks buckel up 48 percent of the time.
• Pick up truck drivers buckle up less than 60 percent of the time.
• 80 percent of women buckle up.
• Less than 68 percent of men buckle up.
• 65 percent of African Americans buckle up.
• 54 percent of Hispanics wear seat belts.

Data from the the National Highway Traffic Administration shows that primary enforcement boosts overall use by 10 percent and reduces racial disparities in use, according to a press release from Best Coalition (Belts Ensure a Safer Tomorrow.)

So, we want to know if Danvers is part of the state consensus.

Do you buckle up? Do your kids? If you choose not to buckle up, why? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts in the comments.