Lives Saved by Restraint Use and 21-Year-Old Minimum Legal Drinking Age Laws,
and Additional Lives That Would Have Been Saved
at 100 Percent Safety Belt and Motorcycle Helmet Use, 1975-2004
|
Year |
Lives Saved |
Additional Lives | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Passenger Vehicle Restraints |
Motorcycle Helmets |
21-Year-Old Drinking Age* | |||||
|
Child |
Safety |
Air |
Safety |
Motorcycle Helmets | |||
|
1975 |
36 |
978 |
0 |
823 |
412 |
13,301 |
1,164 |
|
1976 |
20 |
796 |
0 |
788 |
436 |
13,851 |
1,189 |
|
1977 |
35 |
682 |
0 |
970 |
474 |
14,460 |
1,472 |
|
1978 |
25 |
679 |
0 |
900 |
509 |
15,541 |
1,588 |
|
1979 |
49 |
594 |
0 |
885 |
575 |
15,726 |
1,676 |
|
1980 |
49 |
575 |
0 |
871 |
595 |
15,730 |
1,744 |
|
1981 |
69 |
548 |
0 |
843 |
633 |
15,222 |
1,667 |
|
1982 |
75 |
678 |
0 |
816 |
578 |
13,250 |
1,528 |
|
1983 |
105 |
809 |
0 |
735 |
609 |
12,913 |
1,450 |
|
1984 |
126 |
1,197 |
0 |
813 |
709 |
13,227 |
759 |
|
1985 |
153 |
2,435 |
0 |
788 |
701 |
12,508 |
764 |
|
1986 |
166 |
4,094 |
0 |
807 |
840 |
12,728 |
751 |
|
1987 |
213 |
5,141 |
2 |
667 |
1,071 |
12,678 |
697 |
|
1988 |
248 |
5,959 |
5 |
622 |
1,148 |
12,674 |
643 |
|
1989 |
238 |
6,333 |
8 |
561 |
1,093 |
12,256 |
553 |
|
1990 |
222 |
6,592 |
37 |
655 |
1,033 |
11,761 |
541 |
|
1991 |
253 |
6,838 |
71 |
595 |
941 |
10,812 |
467 |
|
1992 |
292 |
7,020 |
108 |
641 |
795 |
10,195 |
323 |
|
1993 |
313 |
7,773 |
190 |
671 |
816 |
10,212 |
336 |
|
1994 |
420 |
9,219 |
309 |
625 |
848 |
9,507 |
339 |
|
1995 |
408 |
9,882 |
536 |
624 |
851 |
9,781 |
326 |
|
1996 |
480 |
10,710 |
783 |
617 |
846 |
9,459 |
324 |
|
1997 |
444 |
11,259 |
973 |
627 |
846 |
9,096 |
315 |
|
1998 |
438 |
11,680 |
1,208 |
660 |
861 |
8,690 |
369 |
|
1999 |
447 |
11,941 |
1,491 |
745 |
901 |
8,809 |
396 |
|
2000 |
479 |
12,882 |
1,716 |
872 |
922 |
8,245 |
478 |
|
2001 |
388 |
13,295 |
1,978 |
947 |
927 |
8,016 |
558 |
|
2002 |
383 |
14,264 |
2,324 |
992 |
922 |
6,837 |
576 |
|
2003 |
447 |
15,095 |
2,519 |
1,173 |
918 |
6,151 |
651 |
|
2004 |
451 |
15,434 |
2,647 |
1,316 |
923 |
5,839 |
671 |
|
Total |
7,472 |
195,382 |
16,905 |
23,649 |
23,733 |
339,475 |
24,316 |
|
*Estimated reductions in deaths that resulted from the presence of laws establishing a minimum legal age of 21 years for the consumption of alcoholic beverages. |
|||||||
|
The table above presents estimates of the lives saved in 2004 and previous years by various protective devices or laws. The estimates were obtained by combining information from fatal traffic crashes with estimates of the effectiveness of each device or law in saving lives. For safety belts and motorcycle helmets, the table also estimates the numbers of additional lives that could have been saved if the devices had been used by more people. |