Observational Study of Passenger Seat Belt Usage Rates on Shuttle Buses

In 1983, a seat belt use rate survey was published in which 9% shoulder belt use was observed for front-outboard passengers. Nearly forty years later the national estimate of seat belt use has achieved a record high of 91.6% belt use by adult front-seat passengers in 2022. In contrast, there have been very few studies conducted in order to determine seat belt use within large buses and motorcoaches. In 2013, the NHTSA published a final rule amending FMVSS 208 to require seat belts for each seating position in all new over-the-road buses. Beginning in 2016, newly manufactured buses were required to be equipped with lap and shoulder belts for each driver and passenger seat. Recent studies have reported that seat belt use on motorcoaches with relatively long routes was only 2.6%. Similarly, seat belt use in airport shuttle buses was reported to be only 1%. The present observational study was conducted to determine an updated seat belt usage rate of passengers on airport shuttle buses. The aims of this study were two-fold: 1) to personally observe shuttle bus riders and their tendencies to wear or not wear the available seat belts, and 2) to determine whether belt use rates published in recent studies could be confirmed by this study. A single observer completed the shuttle bus trips of this study, which started in July 2022 and continued until July 2023. During each trip, data was recorded for the number of people on the bus and number of people wearing their seat belt. A total of 39 rides on airport shuttle buses in three U.S. cities revealed the seat belt use rate was only 1%, reinforcing previously reported rates.