North Dakota Statewide Traffic Safety Survey, 2022: Traffic Safety Performance Measures for State and Federal Agencies

Vachal, Kimberly; Kubas, Andrew · 2022 · ROSA P / Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute

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Summary

This report presents the findings of the 2022 North Dakota Statewide Traffic Safety Survey, conducted by the Upper Great Plains Transportation Institute for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. The study addresses the need for reliable performance measures to monitor driver attitudes, awareness, and self-reported behaviors, aligning with national priorities established by the Governor’s Highway Safety Association and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The research aims to provide baseline metrics for traffic safety planning, focusing on core issues such as impaired driving, seat belt use, and speeding, while also offering insights into local driving conditions and high-risk populations. The methodology involved a mail survey distributed to a disproportionate stratified random sample of 11,321 North Dakota drivers in March 2022. The sample was stratified by region (east/west) and geography (urban/rural), with oversampling of 18-to-34-year-old drivers to ensure robust analysis of this high-risk group. A total of 1,595 valid responses were received, yielding a 14.1% response rate. Post-stratification weighting was applied to adjust for demographic differences between the sample and the general driver population, ensuring statewide estimates accurately reflected licensed drivers. The survey instrument included core questions on impaired driving, seat belts, and speeding, alongside additional questions tailored to North Dakota’s specific safety goals. Key findings indicate that North Dakota drivers have adopted safer practices regarding seat belt use, with 81.8% reporting they always wear a seat belt, the highest rate in the survey’s 13-year history. However, trends in impaired driving show deterioration; 30.5% of respondents reported driving within two hours of consuming one to two alcoholic beverages in the past 60 days, an increase from 28.6% in 2021. Similarly, 4.9% reported driving after consuming three or more drinks, up from 4.4% the previous year. Drivers perceived a higher likelihood of arrest for impaired driving (64.6%) compared to ticketing for speeding (51.8%) or seat belt violations (32.0%). Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between driving after consuming one to two drinks and driving after three or more, suggesting that engaging in one risky behavior increases the likelihood of others. Additionally, drivers who admitted to driving after drinking were less likely to believe they would be ticketed for speeding or not wearing a seat belt. The study concludes that while seat belt usage has improved, additional efforts are required to address worsening trends in impaired driving and other risky behaviors. The data provides state and federal agencies with critical performance measures to evaluate safety programs, allocate resources, and target interventions toward high-risk groups, such as young drivers. The findings underscore the importance of continued enforcement and education to reduce preventable crashes and fatalities, particularly given that the United States lags behind other developed nations in road traffic death rates.

Key finding

Seat belt usage reached a record high of 81.8% in 2022, yet 30.5% of drivers admitted to driving within two hours of consuming one or two alcoholic beverages, with impaired drivers perceiving lower risks for other traffic violations.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 1595

Provenance

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

Topics

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• seat belt use
• incidence prevalence
• sex gender
• cultural cross national
• traffic safety culture

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, crash risk outcomes
• Methodological Resource: dataset resource