REPEAL OF THE MASSACHUSETTS SEAT BELT LAW
In November 1986, the Massachusetts mandatory seat belt use law was repealed in a referendum by a 53% to 47% vote. In an anonymous random digit telephone survey of 1,046 adults in Massachusetts in summer 1986, while the law was in effect, 61% of respondents had said they would vote in favor of the law. A post-repeal follow-up of 80% of these persons revealed initial supporters and opponents of the law were equally likely to vote, but 15% of the summer supporters switched their opinions and voted for repeal, compared to only 4% of summer opponents who switched. In addition, a separate survey of 167 households that had refused to answer the summer survey indicated that survey nonrespondents were more likely to vote against the law than for it. Those opposing the law saw it as an infringement on personal liberty and believed it was not effective in reducing injury and death.
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Availability:
- Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00900036
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Corporate Authors:
American Public Health Association
800 I Street, NW
Washington, DC United States 20001-3710 -
Authors:
- Hingson, R
- Levenson, S M
- Heeren, T
- Mangione, T
- Rodgers, C
- Schiavonne, T
- Hertz, R P
- Publication Date: 1988-5
Media Info
- Features: Appendices; References; Tables;
- Pagination: p. 548-552
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Serial:
- American Journal of Public Health
- Volume: 78
- Issue Number: 5
- Publisher: American Public Health Association
- ISSN: 0090-0036
- EISSN: 1541-0048
- Serial URL: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/loi/ajph
Subject/Index Terms
- TRT Terms: Accuracy; Data collection; Forecasting; Laws; Manual safety belts; Repeal; Surveys; Utilization
- Geographic Terms: Massachusetts
- Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;
Filing Info
- Accession Number: 00490054
- Record Type: Publication
- Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Report/Paper Numbers: HS-040 472
- Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
- Created Date: Dec 31 1989 12:00AM