Concerns have been raised that occupants of vehicles equipped with both air bags and seat belts would be less likely to use the manual lap/shoulder belt than occupants of cars equipped only with such belts. An earlier survey based primarily on 1986-89 model year cars with air bags indicated that seat belt use rates were about the same in cars with and without air bags. Drivers of 1986 through 1992 model cars with air bags were observed in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. during the summer of 1991. The survey data indicate that seat belt use among occupants of late-model cars with air bags (primarily 1990-91 models) is very high and about the same as among drivers of late-model cars with manual belts only despite the increasing diversity of cars with air bags. (A)
Samenvatting