Nearly 88 percent of drivers in Pennsylvania are buckling up, and it's a new record high, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The seat-belt use rate reached 87.9 percent this year, which is an increase from the previous high of 86.7 percent reported in 2007, PennDOT says.
PennDOT does not release local numbers anymore because seat belt surveys are no longer taken in almost every county. The state transportation department is working with a consulting group, which along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration came up with a scientific method of calculating the statewide rate.
However, Wayne Harper, director of the Center for Traffic Safety, said informal surveys in York County reflect that the seat-belt usage rate is anywhere between 85 and 95 percent. Seat-belt usage is higher on Interstate 83, for example, because people are traveling at higher speeds or going long distances.
The majority of crashes, though, happen within 25 miles of the driver's home and often on a two-way road, Harper said. People can be killed at speeds as low as 12 mph.
Harper said he's happy with the 88 percent, but they still have to reach the remaining 12 percent, which includes young teenagers, pickup drivers and older people who grew up when seat belts weren't installed in vehicles.
"We'll keep plugging away until it's 100 percent," Harper said.
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