If it’s true that safe driving habits like the regular use of seat belts keeps insurance premiums low, than motorists in Illinois are in a good position right now. Why? Because according to the Illinois Department of Transportation, more than 92 percent of the drivers in that state are using safety belts.

Gary Hannig, Transportation Secretary for the State of Illinois, says that for the first six months of 2010, there have been fewer-than-average traffic-related deaths, with the total number of fatalities being 361, down 16.8 percent from the 434 fatalities logged in during the same period in 2009.

Mr Hannig estimates that 92.6 percent of Illinois drivers and front-seat passengers are remembering to buckle up, whenever they’re in a vehicle. This number represents a 16% increase in the use of seat belts since 2003, when the average was 76.4 percent.

Illinois driving laws changed in 2004, making it allowable for police officers to stop motorists for the sole offense of not wearing a safety belt. Before then, as in most other parts of the United States, there had to be another reason to stop a car, and lack of a seat belt merely increased the fine.

The total number of traffic-related deaths in Illinois last year was 928, which is the lowest number since 1921, when 887 people died in car accidents, the Illinois Department of Transportation says.