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Study: Polk, Hillsborough Drivers Don't Like To Buckle Up

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By RICH SHOPES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 4, 2009

Hillsborough and Polk drivers are more reluctant to buckle up than other motorists in Florida, according to a sampling of the state's 12 most populous counties.

The study for the Florida Department of Transportation released Tuesday indicates motorists in those counties are less likely to use seat belts than other drivers in the sample, which also included Leon, Duval and Marion counties in northern Florida; Orange and Pinellas in central Florida and Collier, Broward, Lee, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties in the south.

The DOT hired a company to observe drivers at various points in each county over eight days to determine seatbelt use. Those figures were plugged into a mathematical formula to produce an estimate of overall seatbelt usage. The results were consistent with numbers released last year.

Not buckling up can net drivers a $30 fine, but only after being stopped for another offense, such as speeding. Adult passengers are excluded from the law.

Rep. Rich Glorioso, R-Plant City, is trying to get a bill passed to allow police to pull over drivers for not wearing seat belts. He says it would save 150 lives a year.

The study does not paint a picture of the average offender, but sheds light on the kinds of drivers more likely to forgo their seat belt: Women are more likely than men to buckle up, drivers in pickups have the lowest compliance rate and drivers over the age of 60 posted the highest rate of seat belt use.

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633.

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