2015 safety belt usage survey in Kentucky.

Agent, Kenneth R.; Green, Eric R.; Fields, Michael A. · 2015 · ROSA P / University of Kentucky Transportation Center

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This report presents the findings of the 2015 statewide observational survey of safety belt usage in Kentucky, conducted by the Kentucky Transportation Center. The study aims to establish the current statewide safety belt usage rate, documenting trends associated with the transition from secondary to primary enforcement legislation enacted in 2006. The survey also tracks usage rates for child safety seats, bicycle helmets, and motorcycle helmets to evaluate the effectiveness of ongoing education and enforcement efforts. The methodology involved a stratified random sample of 150 data collection sites across 15 counties, selected to ensure geographic representation and proportionality to vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Counties were chosen from 12 highway districts, with Jefferson and Fayette Counties automatically included due to their high VMT. Sites were categorized into three road classes: limited access, arterials, and local roads. Data collectors observed drivers and front-seat passengers for one hour at each site between June and July 2015, recording belt usage status. The analysis weighted observed rates by VMT to calculate statewide estimates, using a jackknife approach to determine standard errors. The total sample size for front-seat occupants was approximately 76,000. The 2015 statewide safety belt usage rate for all front-seat occupants was 86.7 percent, with a 95 percent confidence interval of 86.1 to 87.3 percent. Usage rates varied significantly by road class, ranging from 92.5 percent on limited access highways to 80.3 percent on local roads. Vehicle type also influenced usage, with vans showing the highest rate (90.1 percent) and pickup trucks the lowest (78.4 percent). County-level rates ranged from a high of 91.0 percent in Kenton County to a low of 71.3 percent in Clay County. Historically, usage has risen from 4 percent in 1982 to 87 percent in 2015. Additionally, the survey found that motorcycle helmet usage was 61.6 percent in 2015, while bicycle helmet usage remained low at 36 percent based on a small sample size. The authors conclude that the 2015 rate represents the highest usage level recorded since surveys began in 1982, attributing this increase to primary enforcement laws and sustained education campaigns. The report recommends maintaining current enforcement efforts and targeting areas with lower usage rates, such as specific counties and vehicle types. Furthermore, the authors suggest modifying the driver point system to include points for safety belt violations and increasing fines to further enhance compliance and enforcement efficacy.

Key finding

The statewide safety belt usage rate for front-seat occupants in Kentucky was 86.7 percent in 2015, with pickup trucks showing the lowest compliance at 78.4 percent and vans the highest at 90.1 percent.

Methodology

naturalistic

Sample size: 76000

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• seat belt use
• incidence prevalence

Information type

What kind of knowledge this paper contributes, grouped by family — independent of topic (what it is about) and method (how it was studied).

• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence