Seat Belt Use in North Dakota, 2025

Andersen, Jaclyn; Vachal, Kimberly · 2025 · ROSA P / Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

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Summary

This report presents the findings of the 2025 National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) for North Dakota, conducted by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute in cooperation with the North Dakota Department of Transportation and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The study aims to provide statistically reliable estimates of seat belt use among drivers and right front-seat passengers to inform highway safety strategies. The research was motivated by the need for systematic evaluation of restraint use rates following the implementation of North Dakota’s primary seat belt law in August 2023, as well as to track trends across various demographic and geographic strata. The methodology involved a field survey conducted during the week of June 1–7, 2025. Trained observers collected data at 320 sites across 16 counties, observing 16,581 vehicle occupants, including 14,319 drivers and 2,262 passengers. The survey utilized a two-stage stratified random sampling scheme for vehicles with gross weights up to 10,000 lbs. Data were weighted to ensure statewide representability, with analyses broken down by county, region (east vs. west), vehicle type, occupant gender, and road type. The weighted statewide seat belt use rate for 2025 was 87.9%, a significant increase from previous years. Significant disparities were observed across categories. Cass County recorded the highest use at 94.0%, while Stutsman County had the lowest at 71.6%. Passenger use (94.4%) consistently exceeded driver use (86.4%). Female occupants demonstrated higher compliance (92.9%) compared to males (84.0%), a gap that persisted across all vehicle types. Vehicle type also influenced rates; SUV and van occupants showed the highest usage (92.8% and 92.5%, respectively), while truck occupants had the lowest rates (82.4%). Regionally, use rates were comparable between the east (87.5%) and west (87.6%), though the west had a higher proportion of trucks, which historically exhibit lower restraint use. Primary roadways saw higher compliance (89.0%) than secondary (85.2%) or local roads (85.8%). The findings indicate a marked improvement in seat belt use in North Dakota, likely influenced by the new primary enforcement law. However, the state’s rate remains below the national average for states with primary laws. The data highlight specific areas for targeted intervention, particularly among male drivers, truck occupants, and residents of counties with historically low compliance such as Stutsman, Barnes, and Williams. The report suggests that while overall trends are positive, continued education and enforcement efforts are necessary to address persistent gaps in specific demographic and geographic groups.

Key finding

The weighted statewide seat belt use rate in North Dakota was 87.9% in 2025, with female occupants and passengers demonstrating significantly higher compliance rates than male occupants and drivers.

Methodology

field_study

Sample size: 16581

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

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• seat belt use

Information type

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• Empirical Findings: observational prevalence