I used to live in Florida and a friend I made there refused to wear her seatbelt. The entire time we'd be driving around together (the only time I went in her car, I'm sure you can guess why), the beep to buckle her belt was going off and I couldn't fathom why she would do this.

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As crazy as I thought she was, this is becoming a growing trend of people choosing not to wear their seatbelts and it has hit Michigan for a second year in a row.

Seat Belt Rates Drop...Again

A press release revealed that Michigan's seatbelt use rates dropped for a second year in a row, albeit only slightly.

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The study found that Michigan's seatbelt usage rate was 92%, a .4% decrease from 2023 and the lowest rate since 2004. While a 92% use rate is still a fantastic percentage, the Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP), would like to see that number at 100%. 2009 saw the state's highest rate at 97.9%.

Which Counties Are The Lowest?

While the state's overall use rate is 92%, every county has different usage rates. Of Michigan's 83 counties, 12 counties were in the 95-100% range, 41 fell in the brown 90-94.9% range, 20 fell in the tan 85-89.9% range, and 9 were in the 75-84.9% range.

Montmorency and Cass Counties sit at the lowest seat belt rates among all the counties with 79.5%. As Katie Bower, director of the OHSP, puts it:

Every unbuckled seat belt represents a life at risk.