Restraint Use (Seat Belt and Child Passenger Seat) Survey

摘要

In Arizona, lack of restraint usage (seat belts and child passenger seats) was a contributing factor to an average of 687 fatalities per year which is nearly 60% of total fatalities. These tragic statistics could be dramatically decreased if effective strategies and educational messages encouraged more people to buckle up. Due to the great opportunity to save lives, increasing restraint usage has been identified as one of five key emphasis areas of Arizonas Strategic Highway Safety Plan. Arizona has seen a restraint usage rate of approximately 80% for the last several years as reported through the annual National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS). Although there is a good understanding of the reported seat belt usage, there is not a good understanding of who is not using seatbelts and why. To develop effective strategies and education messages to improve seat belt usage, there needs to be a better understanding of these factors. The objectives of this research were to (1) conduct a survey to identify why (or why not) people in Arizona use seatbelts and (2) develop criteria and provide recommendations on the most effective means to get drivers to buckle up.