1985-1986 EXPERIENCE WITH BELT LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES

As of August 1987, 27 states plus the District of Columbia had seat belt laws in effect, and about 3/4 of the U.S. population live in states with such laws. Laws in 2 other states are scheduled to take effect by January 1, 1988. All remaining states have laws requiring protection of children by use of safety seats or belts. Results of surveys on belt usage, enforcement of belt laws, fatalities, and injuries are reported. Briefly, belt usage is calculated at 48%, based on the latest statewide figures from the belt law states. Belt use compliance is generally higher in states where enforcement is higher. In several instances, sharp increases in belt use have been observed immediately after onset of a full enforcement policy. Overall, observed fatalities in belt law states were 6.6% less than that forecasted. This was an estimated saving of 1,300 lives. The injury trend, reported for 5 states, relative to occupants covered by the law showed a significant break the month the law took effect, which generally did not happen for others not covered by the law. Improvements ranged from 6 to 14%, which projects to a national saving of 75,000 serious injuries plus at least that many more injuries of lesser magnitude, if all states had belt laws. Other analyses were generally consistent with those described above. In addition, however, were analyses comparing belted versus unbelted car crash victims who went to emergency rooms for treatment. Among these, admission rates and costs per patient were markedly lower for those reported to be belted.