Safety belt statistics - front seat 2010

Safety belt wearing by adult front seat occupants: results of national survey, March / April 2010

The latest annual national survey of safety belt use in New Zealand by adults in the front seats of cars and vans was carried out in March and April 2010. More than 96,000 drivers and adult front seat passengers were observed at 274 sites around the country. As in previous years, each site was surveyed between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. on normal working weekdays during the school term.

In 2010, the safety belt wearing rate for drivers and adult front seat passengers was 95 percent. This result indicates that the improvements made in earlier years are being maintained (see Table 1).

The wearing rates for various categories of front seat occupant are shown in Table 1. As observed in previous years, travellers on the open road had a higher wearing rate than those in urban areas (97% and 95%, respectively) and males were less likely to wear their safety belts than females (also see Figure 1). Five percent of male drivers and eight percent of male passengers were not wearing a safety belt, compared to two percent of female drivers and three percent of female passengers. Over the last 10 years, wearing rates have increased significantly, especially for male drivers and passengers.

Table 1: Safety belt wearing rates for front seat adults by category for the past ten years (%)

Category	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Urban	90	91	91	93	94	94	94	94	95	95
Open road	93	93	93	95	96	97	96	96	96	97
Drivers	92	92	92	94	95	95	95	95	96	96
Passengers	92	93	92	94	95	96	95	95	95	96
Males	89	90	89	92	93	94	94	94	94	95
Male drivers	89	90	90	92	94	94	94	94	95	95
Male passengers	88	88	88	89	90	93	90	91	90	92
Females	95	95	94	96	96	97	97	97	97	98
Female drivers	95	95	94	96	96	97	97	97	97	98
Female passengers	94	95	94	96	96	97	97	96	97	97
All New Zealand	92	92	92	94	95	95	95	95	95	96

Figure 1: Safety belt wearing rates for front seat adults 1996-2010

 

Regional Wearing Rates

These restraint wearing surveys are designed to provide a consistent measure of safety belt use over time by surveying the same sites in each region each year.

Table 2 shows the safety belt wearing rates in each Local Government region over the last ten years. In 2010, at least 3,500 drivers and front seat occupants were surveyed in each region, except in Gisborne where 1174 occupants were surveyed.

Overall, all regions show generally increasing trends in seatbelt usage since 1998. Seatbelt usage has increased significantly*  since last year in Northland, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Taranaki and West Coast. It has decreased since last year in Otago. Other regions have not changed markedly since last year, and are continuing to follow a similar pattern to the national wearing rate.   

*Increase/ decreases have been commented on when the change is considered to be statistically significant; that is, the change in the wearing rate observed in the survey is likely to reflect a real change in the wearing rate.

Table 2. Front seat adult safety belt wearing rates by Local Government Region for the past ten years (%)

Local government region	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Northland	88	93	90	93	93	98	100	90	87	95
Auckland	94	91	95	96	97	97	96	96	96	97
Waikato	93	94	93	94	96	94	95	97	95	97
Bay of Plenty	94	95	93	95	93	95	94	93	96	97
Gisborne	94	95	96	92	92	96	78	85	86	89
Hawke's Bay	82	90	90	91	91	97	94	89	97	97
Taranaki	93	96	93	92	96	95	95	96	96	98
Manawatu-Whanganui	88	88	88	92	92	96	96	96	95	95
Wellington	94	93	91	94	96	96	95	95	95	95
Nelson/Malborough/Tasman	94	95	96	96	97	97	97	97	98	98
West Coast	94	90	90	93	94	95	95	96	96	97
Canterbury	92	93	92	94	95	94	97	96	96	96
Otago	95	95	92	94	94	95	95	97	97	95
Southland	93	87	93	96	97	95	95	96	96	96
All New Zealand	92	92	92	94	95	95	95	95	95	96

Note. The accuracy of the wearing rates shown here depends on the sample sizes (the number of vehicle occupants observed). If the sample size is small, the data may show large random fluctuations in the observed wearing rate. Gisborne region is most affected, with a sample size of less than 300 occupants in 1999 and 600-900 occupants in 2000-2008. Typically, sample sizes in other regions have been over 1000 occupants prior to 2003 and over 3500 occupants since then.

Metropolitan Area Wearing Rates

Table 3 shows the wearing rates for selected metropolitan areas over the last ten years. The observed front seat belt wearing rate has increased in Auckland City, Waitakere, Hamilton and Christchurch. North Shore and Wellington have decreased. Wearing rates in the other metropolitan areas are similar to previous years.

Table 3. Front seat adult safety belt wearing rates by Metropolitan area (%)

Metropolitan area	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
North Shore	96	87	98	97	98	96	96	98	99	92
Waitakere	93	92	92	98	98	97	98	92	98	100
Auckland City	99	98	99	96	98	100	98	98	95	99
Manukau	89	83	93	93	97	93	94	96	96	96
Hamilton	96	91	96	96	99	98	95	96	95	97
Wellington City	94	93	96	97	98	98	92	98	99	97
Christchurch	86	94	97	97	97	97	96	95	96	98
Dunedin	96	98	95	92	97	94	97	98	98	99

Note. The accuracy of wearing rates shown here depends on the sample sizes (the number of vehicle occupants observed). If the sample size is small, the data may show large random fluctuations in the observed wearing rate.

Police District Wearing Rates

National restraint wearing surveys are designed to provide a consistent measure of safety belt use over time, by surveying the same sites in each district each year.

Wearing rates in the Waitemata and Southern Districts have returned to the 2008 level after an improvement in 2009. Seat belt use rates in Northland, Auckland, Counties/Manukau, Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Central have improved since last year.

Table 4 shows the safety belt wearing rates in each Police District over the last ten years.

Table 4: Front seat adult safety belt wearing rates by Police District (%)

Police District	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Northland	88	93	90	93	93	98	99	90	87	95
Waitemata	95	93	96	98	98	98	97	96	98	96
Auckland	99	98	99	96	98	100	98	98	95	99
Counties/Manukau	89	86	93	94	95	95	94	95	96	97
Waikato	91	96	92	94	96	94	95	97	95	97
Bay of Plenty	95	94	94	95	94	95	94	94	95	98
Eastern	84	91	90	91	91	97	91	89	95	95
Central	90	90	90	92	93	96	96	96	95	96
Wellington	94	93	91	94	96	96	95	95	95	95
Tasman	94	92	93	95	95	96	96	96	97	97
Canterbury	92	93	92	94	96	94	97	96	96	96
Southern	94	92	93	95	95	95	95	96	97	95
All New Zealand	92	92	92	94	95	95	95	95	95	96

Local Authority Wearing Rates

Front seat safety belt wearing rates at Local Authority level are presented in Table 5.

Table 5: Front seat adult safety belt wearing rates by Territorial Local Authority 2010

Local authority/authorities	N	Wearing rate %
Northland
Far North	1383	93
Whangarei	1413	98
Kaipara	1194	92
Auckland
Rodney	1129	95
North Shore City	1147	92
Waitakere	1435	100
Auckland	1524	99
Manukau	1572	96
Papakura	1474	97
Franklin	1303	98
Waikato
Thames-Coromandel	1690	100
Hauraki	1083	93
Waikato	1521	96
Matamata-Piako	1408	95
Hamilton	1562	97
Waipa	1608	99
Waitomo/Otorohanga	1316	97
South Waikato	1681	99
Taupo	1533	98
Bay of Plenty
Western Bay of Plenty	1676	99
Tauranga	1678	98
Rotorua	1345	97
Whakatane	1519	98
Kawerau/Opotiki	416	94
Taranaki
New Plymouth	1566	99
Stratford	801	98
South Taranaki	1426	97
Gisborne
Gisborne	1174	89
Hawke's Bay
Wairoa	1426	91
Hastings	1535	97
Napier	1576	99
Central Hawke's Bay	1446	98
Manawatu-Whanganui
Ruapehu	1096	98
Whanganui	1144	96
Rangitikei	968	94
Manawatu	1250	97
Palmerston North	1546	98
Tararua	1134	96
Horowhenua	1331	89
Wellington
Kapiti Coast	1539	94
Porirua	1401	96
Upper Hutt	1469	94
Hutt City	1495	95
Wellington	1477	97
Masterton	1515	95
South Wairarapa/Carteron	1209	95
Nelson/Marlborough/Tasman
Tasman	1532	98
Nelson	1509	98
Marlborough	1576	97
Kaikoura	861	97
West Coast
Buller	1096	97
Grey	1375	97
Westland	1080	96
Canterbury
Hurunui	1344	96
Waimakariri	1543	97
Christchurch	2883	96
Selwyn	1431	97
Ashburton	1357	99
Timaru	1684	97
Mackenzie	1002	94
Waimate	943	92
Otago
Waitaki	929	91
Central Otago	1336	95
Queenstown-Lakes	1588	89
Dunedin	1562	99
Clutha	1325	98
Southland
Southland	1341	94
Gore	1303	96
Invercargill	1537	97

Note. N = number of car/van occupants observed. 

Police Area Wearing Rates

Front seat safety belt wearing rates at Police area level are presented in Table 6.

Police Area	N	Wearing rate (%)
Northland
Far North	1383	93
Whangerei	2607	96
Waitemata
Rodney	1129	95
North Shore	1147	92
Waitakere	1435	100
Auckland
Auckland City/West	808	99
Auckland East	716	98
Counties/Manukau
Counties-Manukau West	817	96
Counties-Manukau East	755	96
Counties-Manukau South	2777	98
Waikato
Waikato East	4181	96
Waikato West	4445	97
Hamilton	1562	97
Bay of Plenty
Taupo	3214	99
Western Bay of Plenty	3354	98
Rotorua	1345	97
Eastern Bay of Plenty	2935	97
Eastern
Gisborne	2600	90
Hastings	2981	98
Napier	1576	99
Central
New Plymouth	1566	99
Ruapehu	1500	96
Rural Taranaki	2227	97
Whanganui	1479	96
Palmerston North Rural	3944	94
Palmerston North City	1564	98
Wellington
Kapiti - Mana	2940	95
Upper Hutt	1469	94
Lower Hutt	1495	95
Wellington	1477	97
Wairarapa	2724	95
Tasman
Nelson Bays	3041	98
Marlborough	2437	97
West Coast	3551	97
Canterbury
Northern Canterbury	2887	96
Christchurch Central	1601	98
Southern Canterbury	2713	95
Mid-South Canterbury	4986	96
Southern
Otago Rural	3853	92
Dunedin	2887	99
Southland	4181	96

Note. N = number of car/van occupants observed. 

Downloads:
Front seatbelt Survey Results 2010 (PDF, v7.0, 167kb) 
Front seatbelt Regional graphs 2010 (PDF, v7.0, 56kb) 
Front seatbelt Police District graphs 2010 (PDF, v7.0, 47kb)