2006 Seat Belt Use Estimate for Native American Tribal Reservations

Chaffe, Robert H. B.; Solomon, M. G. (Mark Geoffrey); Leaf, W. A. · 2008 · ROSA P / United States. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

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Summary

This report presents the findings of the 2006 seat belt use estimate for Native American tribal reservations, sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The study aimed to replicate a 2004 baseline survey to track trends in occupant protection and evaluate the effectiveness of tribal safety programs. The research focused specifically on reservations subject to tribal law and traffic enforcement, excluding the Navajo Nation, which did not permit observations. The goal was to provide a reliable, comparable metric for assessing progress in seat belt usage across the "Indian State." The methodology involved a stratified sampling plan designed to represent varying geographic conditions and population sizes. Researchers targeted 18 reservations with 150 observation sites, but ultimately collected data from 120 sites across 16 reservations. Observations were conducted between September 2006 and March 2007, covering urban collector roads and rural arterials. Data collection included recording vehicle type, occupant sex, and belt usage for drivers and front-seat passengers. The sampling procedure weighted reservations proportional to their populations, ensuring the final combined rate met NHTSA reliability guidelines. The overall seat belt use rate for the sampled reservations was 61.8%, representing a statistically significant increase from the 2004 baseline. However, usage varied drastically, ranging from 27.7% to 87.8% across different reservations. Legal status strongly correlated with usage rates: reservations with primary seat belt laws averaged 73.1% usage, those with secondary laws averaged 59.3%, and those with no laws averaged only 37.2%. Additionally, reservations located in states with primary laws had higher usage (75%) compared to those in states with secondary laws (45%). Demographic analysis showed that females (66.3%) were more likely to wear seat belts than males (58.4%), and drivers (62.9%) had higher usage rates than passengers (58.5%). Usage was lowest for male passengers in pickup trucks (48.6%) and highest for female drivers in vans (74.0%). The study concludes that tribal policy and enforcement procedures are primary drivers of seat belt usage levels. The wide variation in results indicates that some tribal governments are effectively achieving usage rates comparable to the general U.S. population, while others have made little progress. The findings suggest that upgrading seat belt laws from secondary to primary status, or implementing laws where none exist, can significantly improve compliance. This report establishes a critical baseline for future monitoring and highlights the potential for targeted tribal interventions to enhance highway safety.

Key finding

The overall seat belt use rate on Native American tribal reservations was 61.8%, with usage rates of 73.1%, 59.3%, and 37.2% for reservations with primary, secondary, and no seat belt laws, respectively.

Methodology

naturalistic

Sample size: 120

Provenance

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

Topics

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• seat belt use

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