Usage patterns and misuse rates of automatic seat belts by system type

This study examined seat belt usage in North Carolina by drivers of 4,151 late model cars equipped with a variety of restraint system types. We measured usage by restraint type (automatic belt, air bag, manual belt), by make/model and by driver characteristics (age, sex, and race). Usage ranged from a high of 94.2% for motorized shoulder belts (but with only 28.6% lap belt usage in these cars) to 73.9% usage of manual lap/shoulder belts in cars equipped with air bags. Various types of misuse of the shoulder belt (e.g. excessive slack, detachment from the door, placement under the arm) were observed in nearly 6% of the sample.     

Correlates of reported attitude towards and use of seat belts

This paper examines the relationships among self-reported seat-belt use, attitudes towards compulsory seat-belt use, and individual differences dimensions in samples of 91 females and 89 males ranging in age from 18 to 24 yr. The results show (a) support for the compulsory use of seat belts (78% for females, 66% for males); (b) significant relationships between reported seat belt use and four fear of death and dying subscales; and, (c) no relationships between the seat-belt variables and Eysenckian personality variables. One caveat is that the generalizability of results from this student sample to other driver populations may be limited.     

Extra enforcement and the use of seat belts by drivers in Illinois

The use of seat belts by drivers was measured in three target and three control cities in Illinois before, during, and after the application of heightened police enforcement of the seat belt law in the target cities. The extra enforcement produced increases in the use of seat belts by drivers during the four months of the heightened enforcement. Observations of seat belt use continued for four months after the end of the enforcement, and a substantial residual effect remained in two of the three target cities. In one target city the use of seat belts had dropped close to the level at the start of the project by the end of the second month after the end of enforcement. Taking account of the percentage of drivers who became aware of the increased enforcement suggested that a sustained program of enforcement may result in 60%–70% of drivers using seat belts.     

Attitudinal factors in the non-use of seat belts

A stepwise method for the assessment of public opinions was developed and used to investigate attitudes towards seat belts. It was found that most people accept that seat belts are effective, despite the fact that a large majority usually or always drive with belts unfastened. This failure to use seat belts appeared to result primarily from a failure to acquire the habit of buckling up. It did not reflect distrust of seat belts or any very deep-seated systems of attitudes and beliefs. It was concluded that public-education programs will not increase use of seat belts, but that measures are called for which take the decision to wear a belt out of the hands of individual drivers and passengers.     

A review of research on the protection afforded to occupants of cars by seat belts which provide upper torso restraint

The paper presents a critical review and summary of research on the protection afforded to car occupants by seat belts which provide upper torso restraint. The nature and causes of the injuries which occur even when seat belts are worn are then considered, and methods of reducing injuries still further are suggested.

Summaries are given of 8 selected European and American papers on seat belts in accidents. The estimated reductions in serious injuries varied from 45 to 70%, and reasons are suggested for the occurrence of these differences. Evidence of the reduction in deaths, as opposed to serious injuries, when seat belts are worn is scanty, but Australian experience of the results of compulsory seat belt wearing suggest that the wearing of seat belts with upper torso restraint reduces deaths of car occupants by at least 40%.

In non-fatal accidents to belted occupants, head, chest and leg injuries give rise to the largest numbers of severe injuries (AIS >3). In fatalities to belted occupants, however, while head injury retains its premier position, abdominal injury is at least as important as chest injury.

Modifications to the design of lap and diagonal seat belts are suggested, (a) to restrict loads on the abdomen and chest to levels which will not result in serious injury, and (b) to reduce forward movement of the head so as to lessen the risk of head injury.     

Availability, functionality, and use of seat belts in Beijing taxis prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

Use of driver seat belts and availability and functionality of passenger seat belts in a convenience sample of 231 Beijing taxis were examined in the months prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Driver and front passenger seat belt use was mandated in China from 2004 to help address the growing public health crisis of road trauma. Results from observations made by in-vehicle passengers revealed that 21.2% of drivers were correctly wearing a belt, approximately half were not, and one third were using the belt in a non-functional way. Over 3/4 of this sample of taxi drivers were unrestrained while working. The percentage of functionally available belts was higher for front than rear passengers (88.3% and 22.9%, respectively). This low rate of belt availability in rear seats calls into question the preparedness of the fleet to cater for the safety needs of foreign visitors to China, particularly those from countries with high levels of restraint use. Factors influencing the use/misuse of seat belts in China remain largely unexplored. Results of this pilot study support further investigations of barriers to using injury prevention mechanisms such as seat belts in less motorised countries.     

The effects of seat belts on injury severity of front and rear seat occupants in the same frontal crash

Data on passenger cars in frontal crashes were reviewed using NASS 1980–1991. Only crashes with one or more rear seat passengers were included. Combinations (pairs) were made based on restraint use: lap-shoulder belts in the front seat (or no belts worn) and lap belts, (or belts worn) in the rear seat. Passive belts or child restrained occupants were not included. The AIS was used for injury severity. The data indicate the rear seat to be a safer environment. Lap belted rear seat occupants always fared better than their front seat counterparts.     

Crack resistance of automatic coupling casings of railroad freight cars

All-Union Research Institute of Railroad Transport, Moscow. Translated from Problemy Prochnosti, No. 3, pp. 41–43, March, 1988.     

The effectiveness of automatic belts in reducing fatality rates in Toyota Cressidas

Toyota Cressidas have had motor driven automatic belts since 1981. Their observed use rates have been consistently close to 100%. This paper compares fatality rates in Toyota Cressidas with those in the similar Nissan Maximas (which are equipped with three-point manual belts) using the latest data from the Fatal Accident Reporting System. After making adjustments for differences in the average ages of front seat occupants of the two fleets, the Toyotas have a fatality rate that is about three-quarters that of the Nissans. From this, the fatality-reducing effectiveness for the Toyota automatic belts is estimated to be 40% with an uncertainty of ±8%. This effectiveness estimate is consistent with earlier estimates of automatic belt effectiveness.     

The effect of seat belts on minor and severe injuries measured on the abbreviated injury scale

Following the implementation of seat belt wearing legislation in Victoria in December 1970, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons established a survey to collect detailed injury and crash data from car accidents in that State. An analysis of the effect of seat belt wearing on severe injuries sustained by car occupants during the first two years of the survey was reported by Cameron and Nelson[1977]. Minor injuries were ignored in that analysis. Further work extended the file to cover 8537 occupants injured during the first three years of the survey and the injuries (including minor injuries) were coded on the Abbreviated Injury Scale. This paper examines the effect of seat belt wearing on both minor and severe injuries. Some comparisons of injury severity distributions in the Victorian data and in data collected by North American MDAI teams are also made. The paper concludes that the wearing of static three-point lap/sash belts by front outboard seat occupants of cars and car derivatives is associated with: (a) Reduced likelihood of severe-to-fatal injury to the head-face, thorax, lower torso and lower extremities when injured and not ejected in crashes in built-up areas and, for some body regions, in open road crashes, (b) Increased likelihood of minor injury to the thorax and lower torso when injured and not ejected in crashes in all locations and of minor injury to the neck (i.e. whiplash) when injured and not ejected in crashes in built-up areas. There are suggestions that the increased likelihoods of the minor injuries are not artefacts of the injury criterion for inclusion, nor of the reduced likelihood of severe injury to the trunk when seat belts are worn, but are due to the wearing of the seat belt.     

Factors influencing students' usage of school bus seat belts: an empirical analysis of the Alabama pilot project

The Alabama State Department of Education and the Governor's Study Group on School Bus Seat Belts authorized and funded a research project to investigate the effects of lap-shoulder seat belts on Alabama school buses. This article performs an empirical analysis to address an important component of the study – factors that impact students’ decisions about wearing seat belts or not on school buses. Discrete choice modeling framework is applied to quantify relative influences of various factors. To obtain the disaggregate level information on individual student's characteristics and trip properties, a new data collection protocol is developed. Eleven variables are investigated and eight of them are found to have significant impacts. They are age, gender, the home county of a student, a student's trip length, time of day, presence and active involvement of bus aide, and two levels of bus driver involvement. The resulting model fits the data well and reveals several trends that have been overlooked or underestimated in the literature. The model can also be used to predict the change of seat belt usage rate caused by the change of impact factors. This is helpful in identifying the most cost-effective ways to improve compliance rate, which is critical to bring the added safety benefit of seat belts into effect. This article is the first to quantify relative impacts of a range of variables using rigorous statistical modeling techniques. This study will contribute to the literature and provide valuable insights to the practice of school transportation management.     

Predicting seat belt use in fatal motor vehicle crashes from observation surveys of belt use

There is a large difference between the rates of observed seat belt use by the general public and belt use by motor vehicle occupants who are fatally injured in crashes. Seat belt use rates of fatally injured occupants, as reported in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), are much lower than the use rates found in observation surveys conducted by the states. A series of mathematical models describing the empirical relationship between FARS and observed rates were explored. The initial model was a 'straw man' and used two simplifying assumptions: (a) belt users and nonusers are equally likely to be involved in 'potentially fatal collisions', and (b) belts are 45% effective in preventing deaths. The model was examined by comparing each state's FARS use rate with the predicted rate. The model did not fit the state data points even when possible biases in the data were controlled. We next examined the assumptions in the model. Changing the seat belt effectiveness parameter provided a reasonable fit, but required an assumption that seat belts are 67% effective in preventing fatalities. The inclusion of a risk coefficient for non-belted occupants also provided a reasonable fit between the model and data. A variable risk model produced the best fit with the data. The major finding was that a model consistent with the data can be obtained by incorporating the assumption that nonusers of seat belts have a higher risk of involvement in potentially fatal collisions than do seat belt users. It was concluded that unbelted occupants are over-represented in fatal collisions for two reasons: (a) because of a greater chance of involvement in potentially fatal collisions in the first place, and (b) because they are not afforded the protection of seat belts when a collision does occur.     

The effects of mandatory seat belt legislation on self-reported seat belt use among male and female college students

The effect of seat belt legislation on self-reported seat belt use among male and female college students was investigated. Questionnaires inquiring about seat belt use were administered to college students on three separate occasions: (i) two months prior to the time a mandatory seat belt law went into effect, (ii) two months after the law went into effect, and (iii) 16 months after the law went into effect. Reported seat belt use increased significantly for male and female college students two months after the law took effect. At 16 months postlaw, reported seat belt use remained high for female students but declined almost to the prelaw level for males. Possible reasons offered for these findings are that male college students may be more resistant to having their behavior regulated and, therefore, less likely to internalize changes forced on them, and college-age males may be more inclined to engage in risk-taking behavior than college-age females. The importance of considering males and females separately with respect to seat belt use and interventions designed to increase seat belt use is discussed.     

The effectiveness of the Canadian mandatory seat belt use laws

The impact of four provincial mandatory seat belt use laws passed in 1976 and 1977 on seat belt use and on motor vehicle occupant casualties is examined. Subsequent to the passage of the laws, belt use typically increased from 20 to the 70% level dropping to around 50% over the next several years. Ontario exhibited a clear drop in the fatality and injury rates in the years following the introduction of the law. Quebec experienced little reduction in casualties. The changes in casualties for British Columbia and Saskatchewan were mixed with the former showing a drop only in the fatality rate subsequent to the seat belt law, while the latter experienced a reduction only in the injury rate. The provinces without seat belt use laws also enjoyed some reductions in occupant casualty rates. The changes in occupant casualties in the legislated provinces were also examined relative to the changes in non-occupant casualties and relative to the unlegislated provinces. It was concluded that three provinces experienced some reductions as a result of legislation but not as much as anticipated. It is speculated that the impact of the seat belt use laws fell short of expectations because it was mainly the safe drivers who buckled up in response to the laws.     

Seat belts: Factors influencing their use a literature survey

The review is based on studies relevant to seat belt use, reported between 1960 and 1970 from England, Finland, Sweden and the U.S.A. Following a general discussion on the methodology used, the findings of the surveys are grouped according to those variables most extensively studied. Studies of seat belt promoting campaigns and experiments in natural settings or in the laboratory are also discussed in the light of the specific methodological difficulties and weaknesses. It is concluded that the output from all the research activity on this problem area must be considered meagre, the most consistent findings being the differences in use levels between highway and city driving and the relation of belt usage and educational level. Campaign effects generally seem to have been small or none at all. Possible reasons for this are discussed and tentative recommendations are made. A few problem areas in need of research are suggested.     

Observed trends in surface freezing/thawing index over the period 1987–2005 in Mongolia

The annual ground surface freezing and thawing indices can be useful to assess the temporal changes of ground thermal regime in permafrost and seasonally frozen ground regions. The previous analyses of in-situ observation results show that the annual freezing/thawing index could be reliably obtained from monthly observation data. We thus employ monthly ground surface temperature to calculate the annual surface freezing/thawing index in Mongolia. In this study we used Mann–Kendal test and Sen-slope estimate to perform the temporal and spatial trend analysis of annual surface freezing/thawing index at a set of 20 meteorological stations in Mongolia. The study indicates that the annual surface freezing index displays a general increasing trend at 70% of stations although the trend is not statistically significant, which corresponds to a slight winter cooling over the period 1987–2005 in Mongolia. However, the annual surface thawing index shows a statistically significant increase in Mongolia during the past 19 years. The surface thawing index has increased by 29 °C-days/yr in Mongolia, which is far greater than that in the high-latitudinal regions of Northern Hemisphere during recent decades. The intensive increase of annual surface thawing index is predicted to be responsible for the increase in active layer thickness, as well as the changes of permafrost distribution in this country.     

Luxury cars use Reinz’s sealing and shielding products

Reinz-Dichtungs-GmbH’s sealing technology has earned the German company a strong position across the board in the luxury car sector. Its sealing and shielding products are being used in the new Audi A8 and the DaimlerChrysler Maybach.     

Preliminary estimates of the effects of mandatory seat belt use laws

Analyses of motor vehicle fatality counts in New York and several comparison states for the years 1980 through 1985 indicate that New York's seat belt use law reduced fatalities by about nine percent during the first nine months of the law. This estimate is preliminary, and the estimated long-term effect of the law could change as more sophisticated analyses are applied to the data and as belt use changes (it had declined to less than 50 percent over most of the state by the end of the first year of the law). In addition, New York's law is one of the strongest in terms of enforceability, and the effect may be smaller in states with weaker laws. However, the estimated effect in New York is consistent with the experience of other countries with seat belt use laws.