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Survey Finds Support for Primary Seat Belt Enforcement

7 September 2000

IRC Survey Finds Support for Primary Seat Belt Enforcement And Red Light Cameras

    MALVERN, Pa., Sept. 7 According to a recent Insurance
Research Council (IRC) survey of U.S. households, Americans support measures
such as primary seat belt enforcement and red light cameras that are designed
to increase compliance with vehicle safety laws.
    Eighty-nine percent of respondents supported some type of seat belt law.
Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents favored primary enforcement, whereby
police can stop a driver solely on the basis of not wearing a seat belt.
Forty-one percent of respondents favored secondary enforcement, which requires
police to have some other reason to stop a vehicle before citing an occupant
for not buckling up.
    On the second issue, most respondents supported mounting cameras at
intersections to photograph vehicles running red lights.  Nearly six in ten
respondents (59 percent) said that they strongly or somewhat favor the use of
red light cameras to deter red light running in their communities.
    "Other research has shown that primary seat belt enforcement and red light
cameras are effective in reducing accidents and saving lives," said Elizabeth
A. Sprinkel, senior vice president, who heads the IRC.  "It is encouraging
that most Americans support these measures."
    The results contained in IRC's recently released report, Public Attitude
Monitor 2000, Issue 2, were based on a survey conducted by Roper Starch
Worldwide.  The survey consisted of in-home interviews with 1,996 men and
women 18 years old and older.  Survey participants were selected to be
representative of the population of the continental U.S.  The survey also
addressed insurance satisfaction, general insurance knowledge, and attitudes
towards banks and insurance.