Congratulations South Carolina drivers and riders, you’re doing great

The South Carolina Department of Public Safety says that motorists in South Carolina are buckling up at an all-time record high. The state seatbelt usage rate is 93.9 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from last year.

The seatbelt usage rate has been at or above 90 percent for five straight years, according to a press release from the state public safety department.

The new survey was based on traffic counts in 16 counties in June 2016 and focused on shoulder-style safety belts. The state public safety department’s Office of Highway Safety and Justice Programs commissioned the survey by the University of South Carolina’s Department of Statistics.

Among the findings were:

— Women continue to be more likely than men to use safety belts, 95.5 percent compared to 92.5 percent.

— Car occupants were more likely to wear safety belts than truck occupants, 94.5 percent compared to 90.4 percent.

— Rural occupants and urban occupants had similar rates of safety belt usage, 94.2 percent compared to 93.7 percent.

When worn correctly, safety belts are shown to reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and by 60 percent in pickup trucks, SUVs, and minivans, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The safety belt is also a driver’s strongest defense against impaired drivers.

This story was originally published July 8, 2016 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Congratulations South Carolina drivers and riders, you’re doing great."