12/27/2024

GOGEBIC / ONTONAGON COUNTIES - For the second year in a row, seatbelt use in Michigan has dropped.  A study from the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning and Michigan State University shows fewer and fewer people are wearing seatbelts.  Seatbelt use in the state was at its highest in 2009, at 97.9%. In 2024 seatbelt use in the state has dropped to 92%.  Seat belt usage in both Gogebic and Ontonagon Counties is below the statewide average at 87%.  Nearly 1,100 people in Michigan died in traffic crashes last year, a lot of which Michigan State Police attribute to the lack of seatbelt use.