Seat belt use by high school students at six Maryland school was observed and compared with belt use among other motorists in the surrounding community. There was substantial variation in use rates of the high school students (36-91 percent for drivers, 24-74 percent for passengers) largely reflecting differences in socioeconomic status of the communities in which the schools are located. Five of the six schools has been surveyed previously. Seat belt use was generally much higher than in 1988 among both high school and comparison group drivers. Evidence for lower belt use by students was not as clear-cut as in 1988, when high school driver belt use was lower than among comparison drivers at each school. In the current In the current study, this was the case at three of the six schools for drivers and four of the six schools for right front passengers. It is important to find ways to increase seat belt use among teenagers, who are more likely than older people to need the protection provided by belts because of their greater crash risk. The low rate of belt use by teenage passengers is of particular concern, since passengers comprise about 40 percent of all 16-19 year-old motor vehicle occupant deaths.
Abstract