NATIONAL OCCUPANT PROTECTION USE SURVEY - 2000: CONTROLLED INTERSECTION STUDY

In the fall of 2000, 21% more young adults (persons 16-24 years of age) were restrained by shoulder belts than were restrained in the fall of 1998. These estimates were obtained through the National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS) which is conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration under the direction of its National Center for Statistics and Analysis (NCSA). Although this 12 percentage point increase in shoulder belt use by young adults was the only age group with a statistically significant change from 1998, estimates from the fall 2000 NOPUS continued to reflect the upward trend in shoulder belt use rates that has occurred since the NOPUS was first conducted in 1994. This is the second in a series of research notes from NCSA presenting the results from the fall 2000 NOPUS survey. NOPUS is composed of two separate studies: the "moving traffic study," which provides information on overall shoulder belt use; and the "controlled intersection study," which provides more detailed information about shoulder belt use by type of vehicle and person characteristics and child restraint use. This research note presents results from the "controlled intersection study." The research note is organized in the following sections: Data Collection Methodology; Sample Design and Sampling Error; and Results.