01153390

Component

This study analyzed high school teenagers’ seat belt use based on the observational surveys of more than 15,000 teenagers at 150 schools conducted in the state of Missouri, U.S. in 2007. Since fatal car accidents involving high school teenagers are disproportionately high, and increased seat belt use saves lives in what would otherwise be fatal accidents, it is imperative that teenagers’ safety be protected through an increase in use. This study investigated various personal, vehicle, school, and locational factors associated with high school teenagers’ seat belt use. Descriptive and binary logit analyses were conducted. We find that low seat belt use is associated with males, African-Americans, pick-up trucks, non-seatbelt use of accompanying occupants, weekend, inclement driving conditions, small size of school, lower socio-economic status, and rural county school locations. Several factors influencing teenage seat belt use are quite similar to those affecting adult seat belt use, in addition to certain risky behaviors to which teenagers are prone, supporting the importance of early intervention. Programs in schools, the adoption of primary seat belt laws, GDL provisions requiring seat belt use, targeted education and campaign efforts for African-American teenagers, seat belt reminder systems, and more resources to rural counties on safety education and enforcement may help increase seat belt use in this vulnerable age group, though other research questions are implied.

01147878

10-0809

English

22p

2010

Transportation Research Board 89th Annual Meeting

DVD

References; Tables (3)

Adolescents; Driver education; Fatalities; Graduated licensing; High risk drivers; High school students; Highway safety; Males; Pickup trucks; Risk taking; Safety education; Seat belts; Socioeconomic factors; Traffic crashes

Missouri

Highways; Safety and Human Factors; I83: Accidents and the Human Factor

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2010 Paper #10-0809

TRIS, TRB

Jan 25 2010 10:23AM