A MANDATORY SEATBELT USE LAW, THE FIRST SUCH LAW IN THE NATION, BECAME FULLY IN FORCE IN NEW YORK STATE AS OF 1 JANUARY, 1985. WE STUDIED SEATBELT USE AMONG DRIVERS AND FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS INVOLVED IN MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS FOR A 3-MONTH PERIOD PRE-LEGISLATION (PHASE 1), AND A 5-MONTH PERIOD POST-LEGISLATION (PHASE 2), TO DETERMINE IF THIS TYPE OF COMPULSORY LAW, PROVIDING CIVIL FINES OF 50 DOLLARS FOR VIOLATORS, CHANGES SEATBELT USE BEHAVIOR. THE REPORTED USE RATE AMONG DRIVERS ROSE FROM 21% PRE-LEGISLATION TO 47% POST-LEGISLATION (P LESS THAN 0.01). THE USE RATE AMONG FRONT SEAT PASSENGERS ROSE FROM 21% TO 40% (NOT SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF OCCUPANTS RECORDED IN THIS POSITION). A HIGHWAY SURVEY (PHASE 3) NOTED THE USE RATE IN NEW YORK CITY AND SURROUNDING COUNTIES TO BE 63%, A MARKED INCREASE FROM THE PUBLISHED PRE-LEGISLATION VALUE OF 16%. WE CONCLUDE THAT MANDATORY SEATBELT USE LEGISLATION IS EFFECTIVE IN SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASING SEATBELT USE AND URGE PHYSICIANS TO SEEK SIMILAR LEGISLATION IN EVERY STATE.(Author/publisher).
Samenvatting