Your trusted "safety sidekick” to make rural road travel safer! 
Occupant protection refers to the safety features of a motor vehicle that protect a driver or passenger during a crash. These features include seat belts, child safety seats, and air bags. Occupant protection is one of the most effective ways to prevent injuries and fatalities; however, seat belt use in rural areas tends to be lower than in urban and suburban areas. (http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/airbags/RuralCrashes/pages/CriticalNeed.htm)
In this section you will find occupant protection statistics, resources, and educational campaigns.
The National Center for Rural Road Safety (Safety Center) are hosting a FREE, 1.5-hour online webinar. Webinar Description This webinar will provide an overview ... [ Read More » ]
This rural/urban comparison provides: an overview time of day speeding alcohol restraint use rollover crashes driver characteristics nonoccupants fatalities by ... [ Read More » ]
This CDC webpage provides restraint use fact sheets for each state. These “state-specific fact sheets provide a snapshot of motor vehicle occupant deaths ... [ Read More » ]
The National Center for Rural Road Safety (Safety Center) hosted a FREE, 1.5 hour online training event. This Safety Center sponsored webinar explored the publi ... [ Read More » ]
“This report presents the methods for the AAA Foundation’s eighth annual Traffic Safety Culture Index (a nationally representative survey, to begin to a ... [ Read More » ]
This fact sheet details the results of the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) for 2015. ” Seat belt use in 2015 reached 88.5 percent, up from ... [ Read More » ]
This website is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s communication resource for States, partner organizations, and highway safety profess ... [ Read More » ]
In this fact sheet, the 2013 rural and urban information is presented in the following order: Overview Time of Day Speeding Alcohol Restraint Use Rollover Cras ... [ Read More » ]
The National Center for Rural Road Safety (Safety Center) hosted a FREE, 1.5 hour webinar. This Safety Center sponsored webinar provided a background on the ... [ Read More » ]
Child Safety at Parents Central
On Parents Central, “you’ll find information and resources to keep your children safe on the road. Whether you’re buying your child’s first car seat ... [ Read More » ]
Local and Rural Road Safety Briefing Sheets: Behavioral Safety Strategies for Drivers on Rural Roads
This document describes the types of risky driving behaviors evident in rural areas and presents a summary of strategies that can be used to address these behav ... [ Read More » ]
Rewarding Seat belt Use among Young Drivers
Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of injury and death among young drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), abo ... [ Read More » ]
Traffic Safety Facts 2012 Data: Rural/Urban Comparison
This fact sheet contains a rural/urban comparison of statistics on motor vehicle fatal crashes based on data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS). ... [ Read More » ]
Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention: A Winnable Battle
Motor vehicle crashes affect all Americans. Each year, traffic crashes kill nearly 40,000 people and injure another four million severely enough to require emer ... [ Read More » ]