(1) In 1970, Victoria, Australia passed the first law worldwide making safety belts required for drivers and front-seat passengers. (2) By 1991, over 80 jurisdictions worldwide had followed suit with the United States joining in 1984. (3) Like all new things, the law was first met with ridicule and scorn. (4) Opponents claimed that it was an unwarranted intrusion by government into their personal lives and that it denied people the right to determine their own safety and health standards. (5) However, numerous reports have proved that the laws are necessary to save lives. (6) A study conducted in 1998 for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) called the Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey (MVOSS) revealed that "80 percent of the respondents use [safety belts] because doing so is required by law." (7) Considering that seat belts have saved over 135,000 lives between 1975 and 2001 imagine how high the death toll would be if seat belts were NOT required by law. (8) A statistical analysis conducted by the NHTSA says, an estimated 5,500 lives could be saved each year by increasing the level of safety belt use in the United States to 90 percent." (9) Currently, only 68 percent of Americans wear safety belts.
3
Which phrase in sentence 2 should be placed in parentheses?
A.
suit with the United States joining
B.
jurisdictions worldwide
C.
with the United States joining in 1984
D.
had followed suit