The 1985 Session of the Connecticut General Assembly enacted Public Act 85-429 requiring "the operator of and any front seat passengers in a private passenger motor vehicle . . . shall wear seat safety belts while the vehicle is being operated on the highways of this State." Public Act 85-429 became effective January 1, 1986. The month of January, 1986 was set aside for public education wherein persons found violating the act would be issued verbal warnings. The law took full effect on February 1, 1986. After this date, any person found in violation of the law was subject to a fine of $15.00. The object of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of Connecticut's seat belt law as stated in Public Act 85-429. A methodology was developed to evaluate the effect of seat belt usage on injuries sustained by front seat occupants in private passenger motor vehicles involved in accidents. (Author/publisher)
Abstract