New report on seatbelt usage

Iowa DOT has an interesting report on seatbelt laws, particularly with respect to the back seat.

http://www.iowadot.gov/research/rep.../UIowa_SeatBeltPolicyAnalysis_FinalReport.pdf

Many of the findings will be "old news" to people in the CPS community, but it is always nice to have recent facts and figures at hand and additional statistical confirmation. Here are some of the things that jumped out at me:

- Only 28 states have seatbelt laws that apply to all occupants (i.e. including adults in the back seat)
- Even in a state like Iowa with high overall seatbelt use, many people say that they do not always buckle up when in the back seat, most commonly because they forget or because it's not legally required
- Unbelted occupants pose a risk not only to themselves, but also to belted occupants in the same vehicle (with a 2-5x greater risk of serious injury to the belted occupant in the event of a crash)
- Improvements in rear seat occupant safety have not kept pace with improvements in front seat occupant safety; belted adults are slightly more likely to have a fatal injury in the rear than in the front (in vehicles from model year 2000 or newer)
- Awareness of the safety benefits of seatbelts is a relatively small motivator for usage behavior; legal sanctions are a stronger influence, and stronger seatbelt laws and higher fines are associated with higher usage rates

cantabdad said:

- Improvements in rear seat occupant safety have not kept pace with improvements in front seat occupant safety; belted adults are slightly more likely to have a fatal injury in the rear than in the front (in vehicles from model year 2000 or newer)

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This is one of the reasons I allow my children to sit in the front seat once they no longer have a better belt fit in a booster than without one. There are no performance standards, other than a seat back strength standard that a sturdy lawnchair could pass, for back seats. The overall greater risk of injury to children in the front factors in misuse, which is not a factor for my kids. There was a thread not long ago about exceeding hte limits of a booster for a kid that didn't 5 step and someone mentioned that exceeding the limits made the child a crash test dummy. ANYTIME a child rides in a backseat with seatbelt alone they are a crash test dummy, so if it comes to a choice between seatbelt in the front or back and the front fits better, I'm comfortable with children being in front.

safeinthecar said:

This is one of the reasons I allow my children to sit in the front seat once they no longer have a better belt fit in a booster than without one. There are no performance standards, other than a seat back strength standard that a sturdy lawnchair could pass, for back seats. The overall greater risk of injury to children in the front factors in misuse, which is not a factor for my kids. There was a thread not long ago about exceeding hte limits of a booster for a kid that didn't 5 step and someone mentioned that exceeding the limits made the child a crash test dummy. ANYTIME a child rides in a backseat with seatbelt alone they are a crash test dummy, so if it comes to a choice between seatbelt in the front or back and the front fits better, I'm comfortable with children being in front.

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This is something I've been thinking about, too, especially given the improvements in airbag safety for small front-seat passengers.

safeinthecar said:

This is one of the reasons I allow my children to sit in the front seat once they no longer have a better belt fit in a booster than without one. There are no performance standards, other than a seat back strength standard that a sturdy lawnchair could pass, for back seats. The overall greater risk of injury to children in the front factors in misuse, which is not a factor for my kids. There was a thread not long ago about exceeding hte limits of a booster for a kid that didn't 5 step and someone mentioned that exceeding the limits made the child a crash test dummy. ANYTIME a child rides in a backseat with seatbelt alone they are a crash test dummy, so if it comes to a choice between seatbelt in the front or back and the front fits better, I'm comfortable with children being in front.

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I agree, and for more than one reason plan to move my dd to the front when she fits better in that belt than in a booster in the back seat. I think the great consideration and effort given to front seat safety, the emotional & maturity gains from allowing a tween or young teen a special privilege, and the driver instruction that is much easier to give all make it an appropriate choice.