According to new data, men driving pickup trucks in Missouri don’t like wearing seat belts and in many cases it’s costing them their lives.
Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) reports that of the people killed in pickup accidents this year, 77% were male drivers and 83% of them were not buckled in.
This comes as Missouri is seeing a 12 percent increase in traffic fatalities over last year.
MoDOT traffic and safety engineer Nicole Hood tells KMOX 717 people have died on the state’s highways in 2020, that’s 76 more than at this time in 2019.
“There are more open roads right now so I think that is leading to those riskier driving habits and unfortunatley more fatalities,” Hood says.
Of the vehicle occupants killed in Missouri traffic crashes in 2020, 68% were unbuckled. Based on average survival rates, if everyone involved in these crashes had been buckled, more than 180 people who were killed would still be alive today.
As a result, the coalition and MoDOT are stepping up efforts to target messaging and educational resources to males and those driving pickup trucks.
