Estimating the Effect of Standard Enforcement of a Rear Seat Belt Law for Rear Seat Fatality Prevention

Author(s):  
Daniel J. Findley ◽  
Morgan Sanchez ◽  
Timothy Nye

Data were collected from the NHTSA’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System to analyze the link between primary enforcement of rear seat belt use and injury severity in fatal vehicle collisions. Specifically, this study predicted the amount of fatalities that may have been prevented had there been standard enforcement of a rear seat belt law in effect. Previous literature concludes that increasing seat belt use will decrease injury severity in collisions and the primary enforcement of seat belts laws will increase seat belt use by approximately 14%. This study recorded and compared the number of rear seat fatalities in states that did and did not have primary enforcement laws for rear seat occupants. The results indicated that, on average, for every properly restrained rear seat fatality there are 0.45 more rear seat fatalities in states without primary enforcement than states with primary enforcement. It also predicts that the states that do not practice standard seat belt enforcement could have seen approximately 772 to 1,032 fatalities prevented from 2011 to 2015, had there been primary rear seat belt enforcement. This corresponds to an estimated national crash cost savings of $8.6 billion, or $1.7 billion annually.

Author(s):  
Kenneth Nemire

Using seat belts reduces traffic injuries and fatalities. Passengers in the rear seat typically use their seat belts less often than drivers or front-seat passengers. Seat belt use in the back is even less frequent in vehicles for hire such as taxi cabs and rideshare vehicles than in private passenger vehicles. This observational study of adult passengers video-recorded in rideshare vehicles in San Francisco found that a sign mounted at rear passenger seated eye level, and that warned of the risks of failing to wear a seat belt, resulted in significantly higher rates of seat belt use than for rear seat passengers not exposed to the warning sign. Results also showed that age, gender, and trip duration did not have a significant effect on rear seat belt use. Implications for future research and other countermeasures are discussed.


2008 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pius Ehiawaguan Iribhogbe ◽  
Clement Odigie Osime

AbstractIntroduction:Trauma is a major cause of death and disability worldwide. A quarter of all fatalities due to injury occur due to road traffic crashes with 90% of the fatalities occurring in low- and medium-income countries. Poor compliance with the use of seat belts is a problem in many developing countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the level of seatbelt compliance in motor vehicles in Benin City, Nigeria.Methods:A five-day, observational study was conducted in strategic locations in Benin City. The compliance rates of drivers, front seat passengers, and rear seat passengers in the various categories of vehicles were evaluated, and the data were subjected to statistical processing using the Program for Epidemiology.Results:A total of 369 vehicles were observed. This consisted of 172 private cars, 64 taxis, 114 buses, 15 trucks, and four other vehicles. The seat belt compliance rate for drivers was 52.3%, front seat passengers 18.4%, and rear seat passengers 6.1%. Drivers of all categories of vehicles were more likely to use the seat belt compared to front seat passengers (p = 0.000) and rear seat passengers (p = 0.000). Drivers of private cars were more likely to use seat belts compared to taxi drivers (p = 0.000) and bus drivers (p = 0.000). Front seat passengers in private cars were more likely to use the seat belt compared to front seat passengers in taxis (p = 0.000) and buses (p = 0.000). Rear seat pas-sengers in private cars also were more likely to use seat belts compared to rear seat passengers in taxis (p = 0.000) and buses (p = 0.000).Conclusions:Compliance with seat belt use in Benin City is low. Legislation, educational campaigns, and enforcement of seat belt use are needed.


Author(s):  
Kenneth Nemire

Using seat belts reduces traffic injuries and fatalities. There are no observational studies comparing use of seat belts by front and rear seat adult passengers in the United States (U.S.), and no comparisons of rear seat belt use by adult passengers in private, taxi, and rideshare vehicles. This observational study of drivers and adult passengers in two cities, one with a primary and the other with a secondary seat belt enforcement law, found the laws affected seat belt use by drivers but not by rear seat passengers, and that rear seat passengers wore seat belts more in private vehicles than in taxis. The latter result was not because of lack of seat belt availability in taxis. Results also showed that modeling of seat belt use by drivers had little effect on seat belt use by rear seat passengers. Results from rideshare vehicles was mixed. Implications for future research and countermeasures are discussed.


2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salaheddine Bendak ◽  
Sara S. Alnaqbi

2004 ◽  
Vol 56 (5) ◽  
pp. 1009-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Metzger ◽  
Gerald McGwin ◽  
Paul A. MacLennan ◽  
Loring W. Rue

Author(s):  
Donald S. Burke ◽  
Martha W. Bidez ◽  
Kathryn M. Mergl

In 2008, motor vehicle collisions resulted in 968 child occupant fatalities and 193,000 seriously injured children, ages 14 years old and younger, according to the most recent data provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) [1]. In fact, motor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of death for all children ages 3 to 14 years old living in the United States [1]. As children grow older they require size-appropriate restraint types to fit their body at each developmental level. For older children, booster seats are not a total solution for child safety as they are often dependent on the design of the vehicle seat belt system (2). Additionally, there is no federal standard that requires vehicle manufacturers to dynamically test the performance of child seats of any type in their vehicles.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 25-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nandi L. Taylor ◽  
Melissa Daily
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Kenya Freeman ◽  
Michael S. Wogalter

Seat belts have been effective in reducing serious injuries and deaths in vehicular accidents. However, their use by women in the third trimester of pregnancy can cause placental damage and fetal injury or death in relatively minor motor vehicle accidents without severely injuring pregnant women. The lack of seat belt use in similar or more serious accidents could cause severe injuries or death to pregnant women from impacts within the cabin or from ejection, and in turn could lead to fetal injuries or deaths. The present study sought to determine whether women between the ages of 16 and 45 (child bearing age) would like to be informed of these risks. Ninety-nine of the 101 women surveyed indicated they would like to be informed of the risks, and that they would expect to find this information in the vehicle's owners manual. in dealing with the risks, some women indicated that they would wear the seatbelts and others indicated they would not. Most respondents indicated that they would reduce the risks by reducing their use of the vehicle during pregnancy. These results have implications for risk communications.


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