While seat belt use was up slightly to 71 percent in 2000, a new study shows wide variations in use depending on vehicle type and the strength of state seat belt laws. There also were significant regional differences, with Western motorists registering the highest rate of seat belt use in the nation, according to the study by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). A related NHTSA study found that three-point seat belts reduced fatalities by 45 percent in passenger car crashes and 60 percent in light-truck crashes. Fatality reduction is as high as 80 percent in some types of crashes, such as rollovers involving vans, sport/utility vehicles, and pickup trucks. The NHTSA study found that seat belt use increased from 67 percent in 1999 to 71 percent in 2000. Seat belt use has increased steadily since 1995 when the use rate was 58 percent. But NHTSA’s survey found wide variations, which included the following: -- Seat belt use in states with tougher standards (primary enforcement laws) averaged 77 percent while states with weaker secondary laws averaged 64 percent. -- At 80 percent belt use, the West registered the highest regional average while the Northeast was lowest at 67 percent. Seat belt use in the Midwest was 68 percent, while the South averaged 69 percent. -- On average, 74 percent of car occupants used seat belts, while pickup drivers and passengers averaged 59 percent. Together, occupants of vans and sport/utility vehicles averaged 74 percent belt use. Overall, drivers were more likely to buckle up (72 percent) than passengers (68 percent). -- The lowest rate of seat belt use in the nation was found among pickup occupants in the Northeast (45 percent), while car drivers and passengers in the West registered the highest (83 percent). In addition to overall fatality reductions attributed to seat belts, a separate NHTSA occupant protection study found the following: -- Three-point seat belts are effective in almost all types of crashes. For example, they reduced fatalities by 60 percent in cars and 64 percent in light trucks when the vehicle struck a fixed object. -- Belts are especially effective in rollover crashes, because 69 percent of all car fatalities and 78 percent of light-truck deaths in rollovers involved ejection of the unbelted occupant from the vehicle.