More people buckled up in at least 40 states in the past year, a federal highway safety agency said Monday in a report by The Associated Press.

Washington state had the highest rate of seat belt use in 2003, at 94.8 percent, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. California, Hawaii and Oregon reported usage rates above 90 percent.

New Hampshire, which has no seat-belt laws, had the lowest usage rate of 49.6 percent.

The rate fell in five states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, New Mexico and Vermont. In Connecticut, belt use remained steady at 78 percent. Rates were unavailable for Maine, Minnesota and Wyoming.

Jeffrey Michael, head of NHTSA's office of occupant protection, said states that found more people were buckling up generally followed the same formula: They ran ads warning motorists to use seat belts and then enforced that message with police checkpoints.