Seat Belt Usage Rates Research Articles

Factors Influencing Seat Belt Usage Rate for Blacks and Hispanics

Seat belt usage among African Americans and Hispanics has been documented to be significantly lower than that of other population groups. In 1996, an NHTSA study showed low seat belt usage rates among the general population and among African Americans especially. Studies have continued to be performed to measure seat belt usage among African Americans and Hispanics. The Division of Highway Traffic Safety of New Jersey commissioned a study to determine seat belt usage rates for blacks and Hispanics in urban areas in New Jersey and to identify differences in these rates and factors that affect the usage rates. Direct observation was used to obtain safety belt usage for drivers in passenger motor vehicles. Race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic data were also obtained through a questionnaire given to drivers of noncommercial motor vehicles. The study found no significant difference between the usage rates of Asians, blacks, Hispanics, and whites. A logistic regression model was also developed to estimate the probability of seat belt use, which was regarded as the dependent variable, with independent variables including gender, vehicle type, racial–ethnic group, highest educational level achieved, marital status, age, whether the driver had children, and total household income. The variables identified as significant included gender, marital status, and age. Race was not found to be a significant factor in estimating the probability of seat belt usage.

Is seat belt usage by front seat passengers related to seat belt usage by their drivers?

Unrestrained drivers and passengers are involved in a significant amount of fatalities and injuries in motor-vehicle crashes in the United States. While the literature documents the effectiveness of seat belt usage in reducing crash outcomes, such as fatalities and the severity of injuries, there is a need to evaluate the impact of seat belt usage by drivers and passengers in their respective vehicles. These findings could help develop effective education and enforcement strategies to enhance occupant safety. This paper summarizes a study comparing seat belt usage rates of drivers and passengers based on whether or not the driver uses a seat belt. Observational data from 50 sites in the state of Nevada over 3 years are used for analyses. The data are stratified based on the gender of the driver and passengers in the front seat of the vehicle and are based on area type (rural or urban). A comparison of the rates of seat belt usage across for the aggregated data and for various types of disaggregation and statistical analyses to compare the rates of seat belt use among passengers based on the use of seat belts by drivers confirms that when drivers use seat belts, their respective passengers are much more likely to use seat belts. Further, if drivers do not use seat belts, their passengers are not likely to use seat belts. This observation is comparable for male drivers and female drivers, and also for male passengers and female passengers. Further, there are no differences for combinations of the genders of the drivers and passenger (i.e., both male or female, or one male and one female). These results suggest that education and enforcement strategies would benefit most by working toward increasing seat belt usage rates among drivers.

An Examination of the Effects of Delayed Versus Immediate Prompts on Safety Belt Use

A three-group designwas used to evaluate the effects of immediate and delayed verbal prompts on seat belt use versus a no-prompt control condition. Participants in this study were drivers who used valet parking services at a hotel. In the immediate-prompt condition, participants were prompted to buckle up immediately before entering a vehicle; in the delayed-prompt condition, the prompt was delivered when participants delivered the ticket to have their vehicles retrieved. The average delay between a prompt and when participants'vehicles were in motionwas nearly 30 s in the immediate-prompt condition, whereas the delay in the delayed-prompt condition was nearly 5 min 30 s. It was hypothesized that (a) delayed prompts would result in increased seat belt usage rates as compared to the control condition and (b) immediate prompts would lead to higher seat belt usage than delayed prompts. Results supported the second hypothesis but not the first.

A cost benefit analysis of an enhanced seat belt enforcement program in South Africa

Objective: To examine whether a program to increase the wearing of seat belts in a South African urban area would be worthwhile in societal terms. Design: A cost benefit analysis...

Are Seat Belt Usage Rates Lower than We Think?

The observed seat belt usage rates for front seat occupants have improved over the last few decades to 79% across the country in 2003. However, these usage rates, observed at intersections and at freeway entrances, may provide overestimates of actual rates for occupants that are belted at the start of the drive cycle. In the current study, we observed seat belt usage patterns of drivers and front seat passengers exiting gasoline stations, malls, and other public locations to determine whether their seat belts were fastened before leaving the premises as well as how grasping and buckling movements were completed. Contrary to the national usage rates for drivers and front seat occupants, only 52% of the occupants fastened their seat belts before leaving the public locations. We discuss these findings in terms of driver behavior and factors that influence the normal procedural sequences at the start of the drive cycle.

Methodology to Evaluate the Flail Space Model by Using Event Data Recorder Technology

The flail space model, which was developed in the 1980s, has become the standard method for estimating occupant risk in full-scale crash tests involving roadside safety features. The widespread availability of air bags and increased seat belt usage rates in today's vehicle fleet, however, raise serious questions concerning the validity of the model. Recent installation of event data recorders (EDRs) in a number of late-model vehicles presents a different perspective on the assessment of the validity of occupant risk based on the flail space model. EDRs are capable of electronically recording data such as vehicle speed, brake status, and throttle position just before and during an accident. Of particular interest is the EDR's ability to document the deceleration of a vehicle during a collision event. A methodology using EDR data to investigate the capability of the flail space model to predict injury to air bag-restrained occupants and results of a preliminary analysis based on implementation of the developed methodology on a limited data set are presented. Most of the analysis is limited to the occupant impact velocity because of insufficient data for evaluation of the occupant ridedown acceleration. The longitudinal occupant impact velocity was found to be a good predictor of overall injury, chest injury, and, to a lesser extent, lower extremity injury. For the head and upper extremity body region, the longitudinal occupant impact velocity is a weak predictor of injury.

The Effects of Mandatory Seat Belt Laws on Driving Behavior and Traffic Fatalities

This paper investigates the effects of mandatory seat belt laws on driver behavior and traffic fatalities. Using a unique panel data set on seat belt usage rates in all U.S. jurisdictions, we analyze how such laws, by influencing seat belt use, affect traffic fatalities. Controlling for the endogeneity of seat belt usage, we find that it decreases overall traffic fatalities. The magnitude of this effect, however, is significantly smaller than the estimate used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Testing the compensating behavior theory, which suggests that seat belt use also has an adverse effect on fatalities by encouraging careless driving, we find that this theory is not supported by the data. Finally, we identify factors, especially the type of enforcement used, that make seat belt laws more effective in increasing seat belt usage.

Do front-seat belt laws put rear-seat passengers at risk?

Cross-sectional economic models of traffic fatalities are estimated to determine the effectiveness of state statutes that require motor vehicle occupants to use seat belts. The estimates provide some support for the theory of offsetting consumer behavior. In the case of primary enforcement front-seat belt laws, models suggest that rear-seat passengers and nonoccupants may be killed as a result of more dangerous driving by belted drivers. In the case of secondary enforcement front-seat belt laws, there is no favorable or unfavorable effect that is statistically significant. Models that employ self-reported seat belt usage rates from the Centers for Disease Control suggest an offsetting effect for rear-seat passengers and non-occupants as in the case of the models for primary seat belt laws.1

Seat belt usage rates: A test of Peltzman's hypothesis

Despite the universally accepted belief that the use of seat belts would have a significant impact upon the number of vehicular fatalities, current evidence indicates that relatively few drivers employ their seat belts. Various hypotheses have been offered to explain this phenomenon, many of which conclude that a driver's decision to use a seat belt is independent of the risk experienced in his trip making. This paper develops an economic model which focuses upon the relationship between driver use of seat belts and the travel conditions under which trips are made. Using data obtained from a national survey of households, a binary logit model is developed to test the hypothesis that seat belt usage is influenced by the level of risk experienced in one's trip making. The estimation results were consistent with the underlying hypothesis that individuals travelling in more risky environments are more likely to use their seat belts. The econometric results are then employed to examine various policy issues, including the predicted use of seat belts for population sub-groups, driver response to the introduction of a small urban car, and the impact upon the probability of a fatality resulting from vehicle fleet downsizing.

A community health education approach to occupant protection.

The goal of enhancing motor vehicle occupant protection is vital to the public's health. Controversies about passive versus active protection and voluntary versus mandatory measures continue. A program which employed a combination of positive reinforcements (incentives) and wide-scale community education succeeded in raising the community seat belt usage rate from 24 to 41% in 6 months. This rate was sustained at 36% at six-month follow-up. This article reviews the major features of the "Seat Belts Pay Off" campaign and its evaluation and considers both theoretical and pragmatic issues pertinent to replicating the program in other community settings.

Child safety programs

Wearing a seatbelt can prevent motor vehicle crash deaths. While primary seatbelt laws are designed to encourage vehicle passengers to wear seatbelts by allowing law enforcement officers to issue tickets when passengers do not wear seatbelts, discomfort may discourage obese individuals from wearing a seatbelt. The objective of this study is to assess the association between state-level obesity and seatbelt usage rates in the US, and to examine the possible role played by seatbelt laws in these associations. The strength of the association between obesity rates, seatbelt usage, and primary seatbelt laws at the state level is investigated using data from 2006 to 2011. Linear regression analysis is employed. This model estimates that increasing the obesity rate by 1% in a state where a primary seatbelt law (by which law enforcement officers can issue a ticket when seatbelts are not worn) is in effect is associated with a 0.06% decrease in seatbelt usage. However the same percentage of increase in the obesity rate in a state where no primary seatbelt law is in effect is associated with a 0.55% decrease in seatbelt usage. The magnitude of the statistical association between state obesity rates and state-level seatbelt usage is related to the existence of a primary seatbelt law, such that obesity has less impact on seatbelt usage in states where primary seatbelt laws are in effect.

Child safety programs: implications affecting use of child restraints.

Automobile deaths have been identified as the leading cause of death for children between the ages of one and fourteen. Those children who are unrestrained as passengers are at particularly high risk to injury and death. School health and safety programs need to include an understanding of this problem and implement efforts to increase restraint usage. A study of parental seatbelt and child passenger restraint use was conducted to identify frequency of use and behavioral and attitudinal factors influencing use of child restraints. Self-reported data of driver seatbelt use at all times was 19.0%, and the use of a child restraining device was 49.6%. Data recorded in a previous observational study noted a driver seatbelt usage rate of 14.2% and use of a child restraining device at 25.6%. Major reasons for non-use of seatbelts by drivers included discomfort and restricted movement. Reasons for non-use of child restraints focused upon the dislike and discomfort of the child for the restraint.