Failure of Drivers to Buckle Up Has Dangerous Impact on Children
10 February 1998
Failure of Drivers to Buckle Up Has Dangerous Impact on Children
Air Bag Safety Campaign Extended to the Year 2000;
Greater Focus on Increasing Belt Use
WASHINGTON, Feb. 10 -- Drivers who don't buckle up are far
less likely to make sure children are buckled. That conclusion is based on
mounting evidence from recent seat belt use studies in eleven states and by
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The data was
compiled and released today by the Air Bag Safety Campaign during Child
Passenger Safety Week.
"The evidence is clear -- to get children buckled up, we must get drivers
buckled up," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director of the Air Bag Safety
Campaign. "Weak adult belt laws that don't allow effective enforcement put
kids at risk."
Dewey also announced that the Air Bag Safety Campaign has been extended to
push harder for more effective belt laws and enforcement of those laws to
protect children and families, while it continues to promote air bag safety.
Air bags, which prevent serious injuries in frontal crashes, are designed to
work with safety belts. The Campaign will be renamed the Air Bag & Seat Belt
Safety Campaign to reflect a stronger emphasis on increasing belt use.
According to NHTSA's most recent National Occupant Protection Use Survey,
when the driver is buckled, restraint use for toddlers (ages 1-4) is
86 percent. However, when the driver is unbuckled, restraint use for toddlers
drops dramatically to 23 percent. An observational study conducted for the
Colorado Department of Transportation found that when the driver is buckled,
belt use for children ages 4-15 is 72 percent; however, when the driver is
unbuckled, seat belt use for children ages 4-15 drops dangerously to
11 percent. A consistently strong connection between drivers' belt use and
proper use of child restraints was found in other state studies, including
Connecticut, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi,
North Carolina, Oklahoma and Washington.
"Safety is President Clinton's highest priority, and Child Passenger
Safety Week is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the direct impact adult
behavior has on children's safety," said Rodney E. Slater, U.S. Secretary of
Transportation. "Data show adults' behavior dictates safety behavior in cars.
Parents must buckle up because children follow their example."
"In Louisiana, for example, after a standard seat belt law covering adults
was passed, child restraint use jumped from 45 percent to 82 percent in just
two years," added Dewey.
"We know there is more work to be done to increase belt use and to promote
air bag safety particularly among new parents and new buyers of air bag
equipped vehicles," said Dewey. "That is why the sponsors of the Campaign --
auto makers, insurance companies and occupant restraint manufacturers -- are
extending the effort to the year 2000." The Campaign was originally a two-year
effort.
In 1996, 30 people died from air bag related injuries, virtually all were
improperly or completely unbuckled. In that same year, nearly 8,500 people
died in crashes because they were unrestrained. "Safety belt use is key to
maximizing the benefits of air bags and to preventing thousands of lives that
crashes claim each year," said Dr. Ricardo Martinez, Administrator of NHTSA
and Honorary Chair of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign.
"The opportunity is at hand to increase belt use and save thousands of
lives -- kids and adults," added Dewey. "With more people aware of the
critical role of seat belts in air bag safety and the Buckle Up America
initiative well underway, we have the momentum to raise belt use significantly
by the year 2000."
Buckle Up America, which was launched by the Department of Transportation
on October 6, is a program to support grassroots initiatives to increase belt
use. Its goals are to push belt use to 85 percent and reduce child occupant
fatalities by 15 percent by the year 2000. The new Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety
Campaign will continue to work in partnership with NHTSA, law enforcement,
elected officials, health professionals and child health and safety advocates
to meet these goals.
"Low seat belt use is everyone's problem," added Dr. Martinez. "But, with
states like California leading the nation with belt use at 88 percent, we know
our goals are achievable."
National seat belt use now stands at only 68 percent. According to the
Campaign, the best way to increase belt use above its present level is through
a coordinated education effort to build public support for and pass primary or
"standard" enforcement seat belt laws, and step up enforcement of existing
laws. Standard laws allow police to stop and ticket a driver for being
unbelted like any other routine violation, such as having a broken tail light.
The public supports standard enforcement seat belt laws by nearly a two to
one margin, according to a survey by Public Opinion Strategies. Last year,
two states and the District of Columbia enacted standard laws increasing the
number of people protected by these effective laws by 10 million. Many other
states are currently considering passing similar laws this year.
The Air Bag Safety & Seat Belt Campaign is an intensive education and
action campaign by a public/private partnership of automobile manufacturers,
insurance companies, occupant restraint manufacturers, government agencies,
health professionals, and child health and safety organizations. The goal of
the campaign is to increase the proper use of safety belts and child safety
seats and to inform the public about how to maximize the life saving
capabilities of air bags while minimizing the risks.
SOURCE Air Bag Safety Campaign
