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Mass. Seat Belt Use Worst In Nation

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Apr 6, 2009 7:24 pm US/Eastern

Mass. Seat Belt Use Worst In Nation

BOSTON (WBZ) ― Massachusetts is in last place in the nation when it comes to seatbelt use. 

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says seatbelt use climbed to 83 percent overall in 2008, the highest level ever.
 
Read: The NHTSA report (.pdf)

According to the report, Bay State residents are buckling up at a 66.8 percent rate, compared to Michigan, which ranked the best with 97.2 percent.

And what's even more alarming is Massachusetts' percentage is down from the 2007 rate by nearly 2 percent.

Maine saw a big increase in seatbelt use by enacting a seatbelt law. Massachusetts has had a law here since 1994.

Only three states had seatbelt usage less than 70 percent. Those states are Massachusetts, Wyoming and New Hampshire, but New Hampshire did score better than last year.

The government highway deaths dropped to their lowest level in about five decades last year, as the economy and the high price of gas kept many people off the roads.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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