DOT: Illinois Drivers Buckling Up More Than Ever

By Anna Deem in News on Jul 24, 2010 7:30PM

According to Illinois Transportation Secretary Gary Hannig via the Chicago Sun-Times, the percentage of Illinois drivers using seat belts has hit a new high, with an estimated 92.6 percent of drivers and front-seat passengers choosing to buckle up. Traffic deaths in the first six months of 2010 were down 16.8 percent--only 361 in the first half, compared with 434 in 2009. Seat-belt use has also gone up by 16 percent since 2003, which could be attributed to the state law that changed in 2004 and gave police the right to stop drivers solely for not wearing their seat belts.