The More Rural the Area, the Higher the Risk of Crash Deaths

The More Rural the Area, the Higher the Risk of Crash Deaths

According to a new CDC report, living in the most rural areas is associated with higher crash-related death rates for drivers and passengers, a higher percentage of deaths among those not buckled up at the time of the crash, and lower seat belt use in adults.

When considering Census regions, adults in the West had the highest passenger-vehicle–occupant death rate in the most rural counties at 40.0 per 100,000 population, compared with 29.2 in the South and 25.8 in the Midwest. In the Northeast, data for the most rural counties were not reported, the death rate in the second most rural counties was 10.8 per 100,000 population. Within each Census region, seat belt use in adults decreased significantly, as the areas became more rural. Similarly, the proportion of drivers and passengers who were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash also increased as rurality increased. Seat belt use was significantly higher in primary enforcement states than in secondary enforcement states for rural areas and for almost all demographic, health-related, and behavioral categories.

Learn more:

For more information about urban and rural differences in crash deaths among drivers and passengers and seat belt use among adults, read the complete MMWR.

Learn more about motor vehicle safety at CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control Motor Vehicle Safety website.

For more information on rural health visit CDC’s Rural Health website.