FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2006
Contact Person: Tina Whitlow
(270) 781-8039 ext. 185
7TH ANNUAL SEAT BELT SURVEY RESULTS
The Barren River District Health Department has completed its 7th annual seat belt survey. Starting this year we conducted observational surveillances in four of the eight counties in the health department district, alternating a four-county group each year. The surveillances are conducted by health department staff at several sites in each of the four counties. Drivers and vehicle occupants are observed for seat belt use at 8 sites in Edmonson County.
At the entrance to Edmonson County High School, only 53% of drivers in the 16-30 year old age group buckled up compared to 61% last year. Both men and women in each age group decreased in seat belt usage this year with the exception of men ages 16-30 which showed a slight increase from last year. This is encouraging since the trend over the past 6 years in this 16-30 year old male age group has shown the lowest usage rate.
Another discouraging finding was that Edmonson County’s overall driver seat belt use dropped from 51% last year to 49% this year and passenger usage dropped from 57% to 50%. Women buckled up at 58% compared to only 42% of men who used safety restraints. Those drivers most likely to wear seat belts are women over the age of 50, 66% of whom were buckled. The drivers least likely to buckle up were 31-50 year old males with only 39% buckling up.
In Edmonson County, front seat passengers also had significant decreases in seat belt use. Overall passenger use went from 66% last year to 50% this year. Because of the difficulty in viewing safety seats in the back seats of moving vehicles, we do not have enough data to know how many parents are using safety seats correctly, if at all. However, safety advocates have been recommending for several years that children 12 and under sit in the back seat, the safest place for children.
This year we separated trucks from other vehicles in our surveillance and found even more dismal results. Of 366 truck drivers and passengers observed, only 32% of them were using restraints. When separating males from female drivers, only 32% of males were observed buckling up compared to an even lower percentage of 30% for women. The age group least likely to use safety restraints while driving a truck was the 31-50 year old males and females. Fewer than 1 in 4 drivers buckled up.
Many authorities believe that seat belt use will increase due to the recent Kentucky passing of the primary seat belt law. Seat belt use is 11% higher in states with primary seat belt laws, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Kentucky’s previous law made failing to wear a seat belt a secondary offense; officers could only write a citation if they stopped the vehicle for another infraction. Now that a stronger seat belt law has been enacted, safety advocates across the community hope that the “incentive” of a seat belt fine will encourage those still not buckling up to change their habits. Unfortunately, tragedy is one of the best educators. The administrator of NHTSA made a thought-provoking comment when he said “You have the ability to turn the statement ‘if only he had worn his seatbelt’ into ‘Thank God he was wearing his seatbelt.”
For more detailed findings of the health department’s survey, call Tina Whitlow at 270-781-8039, ext. 185.
###
PROMOTE • PROTECT • PREVENT
Home - Health Info. - Services - Health Quizzes - Local Stats - Calendar - Admin.Services - Contact Us