Patterns of safety belt usage following introduction of a safety belt wearing law

The paper reviews the process of enacting a safety belt wearing law in Israel, and studies the impact it has had on belt usage and on casualty reductions. Safety belt legislation in Israel had several unique features in that, on the one hand, all passenger vehicles were retrofitted with safety belts, but, on the other hand, it exempted drivers and front-seat passengers of pre-1969 model vehicles from the compulsory use of belts. Also, the legislation applied only to the use of belts on interurban roads. Repeated counts of safety belt usage, before and after the implementation of the law, provided strong evidence for the efficacy of the legislative act as such. Usage rates rose from an average of 6% to upward of 70%. There was a marked carryover effect of the law on belt wearing rates on urban roads and on the use by drivers of pre-1969 model cars. However, this effect diminished with time. Results of a questionnaire survey provided further evidence for the general acceptance of the law by the public. Only a small minority of drivers completely rejected the use of safety belts. A comparison with data from other countries shows that the impact of a compulsory safety belt wearing law on safety belt usage and on casualty reduction is a universal phenomenon. This fact should encourage researchers, legislators and adminstrators in jurisdictions which are still deliberating the value of mandatory safety belt legislation. On the basis of the trends in fatalities and casualties to car drivers and passengers on urban roads during the two and one-half year period following the introduction of the seat belt law, it is estimated that a reduction of 42% in car fatalities and 44% in car passengers occurred on interurban roads during those two and one-half years. The corresponding reductions in casualties were 18% and eight percent respectively.