ATLANTA, GA — The Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety awarded the Injury Prevention Research Center at Emory University $301,432 to measure seatbelt use and distracted driving in Georgia.
Teams of observers at over 400 sites in 20 counties across the state gathered data for the study, documenting who was wearing a seatbelt in the front seat and who was not, and if the driver was distracted. Driver demographics were also recorded.
This data is useful in helping the state target efforts to increase seatbelt usage and decrease distraction while behind the wheel.
Researcher Jonathan Rupp says they found that seatbelt usage tends to be higher in metro Atlanta, but overall, seatbelt use is unchanged. The study found that slightly more men than women buckle up.
When it comes to age, Rupp says that there needs to be a focus on seatbelt use and teens.
“What we see is younger drivers tend to be less likely to wear seatbelts than older drivers. In fact, the highest rates of seatbelt use are observed in our oldest drivers and right-front passengers,” he said.
According to Rupp, there needs to be a focus on seat-belt use among men pick-up truck drivers.
Rupp says the most encouraging finding is that distracted driving is down significantly in the past year. “That rate has went down, particularly in the last year significantly. We don’t quite know what the cause is.”
