THE SEATBELT EDUCATION PROJECT

The use of seatbelts is a highly desirable countermeasure to injury and death in highway traffic accidents. Unfortunately, however, seatbelt use has remained at low levels despite considerable effort and expense to increase their use through mass media campaigns. Literature on these matters is briefly reviewed. Studies suggest that a more fruitful approach to increasing seatbelt use would involve longer, more intense contacts trailored for specific audiences. In seeking a more effective public-information approach, we decided to develop a prototype seatbelt educational program for school children and to test its effect on seatbelt use. The prototype program consisted of a lengthy, varied session in which the children actively participated. Grade Two and Three children in selected schools were exposed to the program in groups of 75 to 100. Immediately after the program, parent's seatbelt use was observed in two different areas. Parents of "treated" children used their belts at substantially higher rates than other parents. Implications and future directions of the program are discussed.

• Corporate Authors:

  Ontario Ministry of Transportation & Communic, Can

  Research and Development Division, 1201 Wilson Avenue
  Downsview, ONo M3M 1J8,   Canada 
• Authors:
  • Lonero, L P
  • Wilson, W T
  • Ish, D M
• Publication Date: 1973

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Countermeasures; Education; Manual safety belts; Mass media; Public policy; School children
• Uncontrolled Terms: Public interest
• Subject Areas: Highways; Policy; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00125465
• Record Type: Publication
• Report/Paper Numbers: RR187
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Dec 3 1975 12:00AM