Skip to Search Skip to Left Navigation U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS)Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) - Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) - United States Department of Transportation (USDOT, US DOT or DOT)
  ABOUT RITA | CONTACT US | PRESS ROOM | CAREERS | SITE MAP
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Data and Statistics
Bookstore
Programs
About BTS
Upcoming Press Releases
External Links
Intelligent Transportation Systems
National Transportation Library
Research, Development and Technology
Transportation Safety Institute
University Transportation Centers
Volpe National Transportation Systems Center
Printable Version

Table 2-30: Estimated Number of Lives Saved by Occupant Protection, Motorcycle Helmets, and Drinking Age Law

Excel | CSV

  1975-1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 (R) 2003 2004 Total
1975-2004
Safety beltsa,b 68,940 9,882 10,710 11,259 11,680 11,941 12,882 13,295 14,264 15,095 15,434 195,382
Air bagsc 730 536 783 973 1,208 1,491 1,716 1,978 2,324 2,519 2,647 16,905
Motorcycle helmets (R) 15,076 (R) 624 (R) 617 (R) 627 (R) 660 (R) 745 (R) 872 (R) 947 (R) 992 1,173 1,316 23,649
Age 21 minimum legal drinking age 14,816 851 846 846 861 901 922 927 922 918 923 23,733
Child restraints 3,107 408 480 444 438 447 479 388 383 447 451 7,472

KEY: R = revised.

a Represents all adults and children age 5 and older. Data are for passenger vehicles, which include cars, light trucks, vans, pickups, and utility vehicles. Excludes medium and heavy trucks.

b In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) revised its method for estimating lives saved by safety belts. The previous method included survey data from states with and without belt use laws. The current method relies on police-reported restraint use information for each individual occupant fatality. Also, the estimate now includes lives saved in passenger vehicles at all seating positions, where previously it had been front outboard positions only.

c In 2002, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revised the method for calculating lives saved by air bags.

SOURCE

U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Traffic Safety Facts 2004 Early Edition (Washington DC: 2005), Internet site http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2004EE.pdf as of Nov. 18, 2005.