SAFETY BELT USE AND HIGHWAY SAFETY IN MARYLAND

Lap belts have been required in front seats of automobiles manufactured for sale in the United States since 1964, and lap and shoulder belts have been placed on almost all new cars sold in the United States since 1969. However, availability and use did not match. Several states have enacted mandatory belt use laws (MULs) in the past 5 years. Maryland enacted a MUL in 1986, and an evaluation of its effectiveness in terms of belt use and injury reduction is described. Specifically, 55 observational field studies were conducted at 44 sites in 1987, 32 studies at 26 sites in 1988 (12 of which were the same locations as in 1987), and 16 studies at 16 previous sites in 1989. These studies showed trends as well as usage for different types of highways, times of day, and rural versus urban locations. An analysis of traffic accident victims admitted to Maryland's 11 trauma centers showed a huge increase in serious injury and mortality for unbelted versus belted victims.

• Record URL:
  http://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/trr/1991/1325/1325-006.pdf
• Record URL:
  https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=SAFETY+BELT+USE+AND+HIGHWAY+SAFETY+IN+MARYLAND&author=E.+Carter&author=P.+Schonfeld&publication_year=1991
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0309051657
• Supplemental Notes:
  • This paper appears in Transportation Research Record No. 1325, Highway Safety: Older Drivers, Seat Belts, Alcohol, Motorcycles, and Pedestrians 1991. Distribution, posting, or copying of this PDF is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy of Sciences. Unless otherwise indicated, all materials in this PDF are copyrighted by the National Academy of Sciences. Copyright © National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved
• Authors:
  • Carter, Everett C
  • Schonfeld, Paul M
• Publication Date: 1991

Media Info

• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: p. 45-50
• Monograph Title: Highway safety: older drivers, seat belts, alcohol, motorcycles, and pedestrians, 1991
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record
  • Issue Number: 1325
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Classification; Fatalities; Field studies; Highway safety; Highways; Injuries; Laws; Manual safety belts; Measures of effectiveness; Rural areas; Trend (Statistics); Urban areas; Utilization
• Uncontrolled Terms: Effectiveness; Highway classification
• Geographic Terms: Maryland
• Subject Areas: Highways; Law; Research; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00622219
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0309051657
• Files: TRIS, TRB
• Created Date: May 31 1992 12:00AM