A SURVEY OF CHILD SAFETY SEAT AND SAFETY BELT USE IN VIRGINIA: THE 1987 UPDATE

Observational surveys of belt use by the motoring public in Virginia have been conducted in two series: (1) 1974-1977 and (2) 1983-1987. Only the latter data are presented in this report. Each year data were collected in the Roanoke, Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Tidewater areas. In 1987, nine small communities were added to the survey sites: three each in the western, valley, and southside areas of the state. Observed belt usages are analyzed according to a number of occupant, vehicle, and geographic characteristics. Each of these is discussed in a separate section of the report. Belt use in the urban areas increased each year, and in 1987, 40.4% of the drivers and 32.9% of the passengers were using some form of safety restraint. Use rates in the towns were much lower than those in the urban areas. While there was considerable variability in the use rates among the towns surveyed, the overall town rates were 20.2% for drivers and 19.5% for passengers. Urban and town rates were combined and treated as statewide rates. These statewide rates were 34.3% for drivers and 28.9% for passengers. There are a number of other findings presented in the report. Among these are the following: (1) belt use is highest in the northern area of the state; (2) in the last two years, there was little difference in the rates of use throughout the day; (3) each year, over two-thirds of all infants were in child safety seats, but in 1987, 37.5% were incorrectly restrained; and (4) in 1987, young adults had the highest rates of use. It was concluded that passage of the Child Safety Seat Law by the Virginia General Assembly has had a continuing major positive influence on the use of child safety seats. It was further concluded that a number of other factors have combined to raise safety belt usage by other vehicle occupants, and these voluntary rates have approached levels comparable to usage rates in states with mandatory usage laws. It is recommended that additional state and local effort to increase safety belt use should be directed at small communities and in the western area of the state.

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• Record URL:
  • https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/19181
• Corporate Authors:

  Virginia Transportation Research Council

  530 Edgemont Road
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22903

  Virginia Department of Transportation

  1401 East Broad Street
  Richmond, VA  United States  23219

  University of Virginia, Charlottesville

  Center for Transportation Studies, P.O. Box 400742
  Charlottesville, VA  United States  22904-4742
• Authors:
  • Stoke, C B
• Publication Date: 1988-2

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Tables;
• Pagination: 51 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automobiles by type; Child restraint systems; Data collection; Drivers; Laws; Manual safety belts; Measures of effectiveness; Passengers; Small towns; Surveys; Towns; Urban areas; Utilization; Vehicle occupancy
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Misuse; Vehicle type
• Geographic Terms: Virginia
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Passenger Transportation; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00490061
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: Proj No 9133-452-940, HS-040 481
• Contract Numbers: DE87-06-53006
• Files: HSL, NTL, TRIS, ATRI, USDOT, STATEDOT
• Created Date: Dec 31 1989 12:00AM