Posted at: 10/30/2012 10:56 AM
Print Story
Email to a FriendSoutheastern MN Seatbelt Use On The Rise
(ABC 6 News) - It looks like southeastern Minnesota is buckling up more and more. The Minnesota Department of Transportation released the results of a recent survey which show the region's seat belt use is at 86.7 percent. That's a 2 percent increase from last year.
"Seat belt use is historically lower in rural areas compared to the Twin Cities, and therefore, rural areas see more unbelted deaths," says Kristine Hernandez, southeastern Minnesota Toward Zero Deaths coordinator. "We have seen a significant change in belt use in southeastern Minnesota since 2006 when we first conducted this survey in our region. At that time, belt use was at 69.4 percent."
The regional seat belt surveys are unrelated to the Department of Public Safety annual statewide survey results announced recently and cannot be compared to the statewide results which showed a compliance rate of 93.6 percent.
We're talking to MNDOT about this today. Catch the interview this evening on ABC 6 News
