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
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