Study on the situation of seat belt wearing among drivers and front-seat passengers of vehicles in Nanjing in 2005-2007

Abstract

To find out the situation of seat belt wearing among drivers and passengers in Nanjing after the National Road Traffic Safety Law and its Ordinance had been issued for 3 years, in Jiangsu province. Situation on seat belt wearing among drivers and front passengers on four types of vehicles including taxi, cars (below 8 seats), vans and pickups was studied during different time blocks at 4 sites in the city. A total number of 35 256 vehicles, their drivers and another 15 772 passengers sitting in the front, were observed. The prevalence rates of seat belt wearing, not wearing and pretend wearing among drivers were 49.9%, 44.1%, and 4.6% respectively while among front-seat passengers were 9.1% and 90.9% respectively. There were significantly declining trends in seat belt wearing among both drivers and front-seat passengers during the 3-years of observation, after adjustment by sex, types of vehicles and other factors (P < 0.01). Risk of not wearing among front seat passengers was higher for those 'not-wearing' drivers (OR = 8.10, P < 0.01). Neither the current law nor ordinance in Jiangsu province gives detailed regulations on seat belt wearing, which hampers the effective enforcement.