Despite the fact that New Hampshire drivers don’t have a law where wearing seat belts are compulsory, they seem to be buckling up. Wearing seat belts reduces fatalities and injuries to a very large extent. As per the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, wearing seat belts help in reducing fatalities by 45% and risk of suffering serious injuries by 50% for those who are sitting in the front. The surprising fact is that New Hampshire drivers seem to be buckling up much more than the drivers in Massachusetts.
During 2010, New Hampshire had ranked last in the entire nation, when it came to seat belt use and only around 72% of the people were actually using seat belts, as per statistics available. Massachusetts was also in the same range where only around 73% actually wore seat belts.
If the new statistics are released by the US agency, New Hampshire is likely to get a rating of 75%, stated Peter Thomson, who is the coordinator of New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency. Last year, the Bay State’s figure had dropped to around 73% according to the Department of Transportation, which means New Hampshire has gone way ahead.
Thomson state that this has happened even though there are no laws. People are being educated in this regard with the help of agencies and groups. There is a lot of awareness that is being created and this seems to have caught on quite well.
‘Live free or Die’ is the state motto that the northern neighbors are proud of. Registration plates in every vehicle carry this motto and the same message can be seen in their driving rules as well. Motorcyclists don’t have to wear helmets, motor vehicle excise tax is absent, and even auto insurance is not mandatory, it is optional.
However, if you look closer, a lot of myths about the drivers in New Hampshire and Massachusetts can be busted. They have a lot of things in common. Use of seat belts is the first similarity and apart from that around 90% of the motorists in New Hampshire carry auto insurance, just like drivers in any other state. Registration of their cars cost the New Hampshire drivers almost the same as what the others pay by way of excise taxes. The no-texting-while-driving laws are over 5 years old. Statistics have also shown a drop in motorcycle-related deaths last year, which may be due to the fact that bikers could be wearing headgear.
