Claims News Service, May 15, 2:57 p.m. EDT — According to a recent National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report "Research Note: Restraint Use Patterns Among Fatally Injured Passenger Vehicle Occupants," 48 million — or 18 percent — of Americans still fail to wear safety belts, despite the highest U.S. safety-belt use rate ever recorded. The report indicates that three groups are the least likely to buckle up: young males; residents of rural areas; and pickup truck drivers.

The report's release coincides with the national "Click It or Ticket" crackdown on belt law violators (May 22-June 4). The law enforcement effort is supported by more than $31 million in national and state ads. They will be aired in media most frequently watched or listened to by males ages 18 to 34.

Illinois enacted a primary safety belt law, paid advertising, and enforcement efforts in 2003, and as a result the state's traffic deaths fell to 60-year lows in 2004. A total of 1,355 people died in traffic crashes last year in Illinois, a seven percent drop from the 1,454 traffic deaths in 2003. According to NHTSA, 31,693 passenger vehicle occupants died nationwide in traffic crashes during 2004. Fifty-five percent of those killed were not wearing safety belts at the time of the crash.