Report: Seat belt use slides slightly in Michigan but fewer drivers using hand-held devices

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Timothy Gates, associate chair for undergraduate studies of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University, talks about a new report on the use of seat belts and hand-held devices by Michigan drivers.

The report shows 92 percent of front-seat occupants in Michigan wear seat belts, down from 92.4 percent in 2023 and 92.9 percent in 2022.

Gates talks about the demographic breakdown within those numbers, which show younger male drivers are less likely to wear seat belts. He also discusses the different kinds of drivers who populate the roads in the wake of the pandemic, as remote work remains the norm for more white-collar workers.

Also discussed: speeding continues to be a problem post-pandemic, Gates says.