Coverage Gaps in Seat Belt Use Laws

• NCJ Number: 116007
• Journal: American Journal of Public Health Volume: 79 Issue: 3 Dated: (March 1989) Pages: 332-333
• Author(s): J K Wells; A F Williams; M Fields
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 2 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Free online PDF and HTML access to the American Journal of Public Health is provided by the publisher 24 months after individual issues are released.

Annotation

This State-by-State analysis focused on the extent to which passenger vehicle occupants who were killed before seat belt use laws went into effect would have been covered by the laws that were subsequently passed.

Abstract

The laws that were passed in 30 States and the District of Columbia during 1984-87 varied in their requirements, enforcement provisions, and penalties. Most laws exempt some occupants from coverage even though those occupants have seat belts available for use. Most States had laws that would have applied to more than 90 percent of the motor vehicle occupants killed in their States in the years just before the laws were passed. However, a few States -- those that exempt light truck and van occupants but have many of these vehicles on their roads -- exclude 25 to 40 percent of their occupant population. Only five States had laws that covered all passenger vehicle occupants. Some of the gaps in coverage in the original laws have been subsequently removed through amendments. Table and 7 references. (Author abstract modified)