More than 85 percent of American adults have seemed to already understand the benefits of using seat belts. Because of this, there have been fewer road accidents and deaths. This has been a dramatic increase since the first law on the use of seat belts was passed in 1982 when only 11 percent of Americans wore seat belts.

The director of CDC, Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, said that the improvement on the percentage of people wearing seat belts has reduced injuries and deaths from motor vehicle crashes. However, there are still more ways to help promote the use of seat belts because motor vehicle crashes are still the number one cause of death in the United States.

There are nearly 2 million adults brought to the hospital yearly because of vehicular accidents and around 34,000 people died last year because of this. The best way to prevent these deaths or by reducing the risks by 50 percent is by wearing a seat belt.

In a January 4 edition of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the use of seat belt varies. In Oregon, more than 94 percent of people buckle up, while only 59 percent use seat belt in North Dakota. Among the seven states with 90 percent seat belt wearers are: Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii, Texas and New Jersey. The only state with no seat belt law is New Hamphsire.

According to the weekly report, if all states pull drivers over for seat belt violations, over 7.3 million Americans would have buckled up in 2008. CDC said that if we want to increase the use of seat belt and reduce the injury, there should be seat belt laws that would cover drivers and passengers both in the front and back seats. Seat belts should also be used in every trip and children below 12 should sit in the back seat.