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Backseat Belt Use Lags Way Behind

22 September 1997

Backseat Belt Use Lags Way Behind: Only Half as Many Americans Buckle Up in Back as in Front, Survey Finds

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 -- While about two thirds of Americans
say they always buckle up in the front seat, only about half that many say
they use their seat belt in the back seat, according to a new survey released
by the Air Bag Safety Campaign today.  While the back seat is the safest place
to ride in a car, unbelted back seat passengers are at serious risk -- and, in
a crash they can pose a potentially fatal threat to others in the vehicle.
    "Wearing a seat belt is the most important step you can take to protect
yourself and your loved ones in a crash," said Janet Dewey, Executive Director
of the Air Bag Safety Campaign.  "In a 55 mile per hour crash, an unbelted
back seat passenger of average size would fly forward with a force of 3,000
pounds -- enough to seriously injure or even kill other passengers.  Crash
investigators refer to this problem as the elephant-in-the-backseat syndrome."
    The study also found that drivers are only half as likely to make sure
that passengers in the back seat are buckled up.  Sixty-one percent of those
surveyed say they require front seat passengers to wear a seat belt, while
only 34 percent make sure back seat passengers are securely belted.
    "The tragic death of Princess Diana has put a spotlight on the importance
of seat belt use," said Dewey.  "The only person who survived that high-speed
crash was properly buckled up in the front seat and had the added protection
of an air bag." The unbelted driver and unbelted back seat passengers were
killed.
    Three out of four Americans say they believe that, in a 55 mile per hour
crash, they are safer riding buckled up in the front seat than riding
unbuckled in back.
    "Many people say they know the risks associated with being unbuckled, yet
this survey shows that far too many people admit they aren't buckling up,"
said Dewey.  "If raising awareness would get everyone buckled up, then this
problem would be solved by now.  Belt use is still too low -- that is why we
must enact and enforce stronger seat belt laws."
    Despite more recently identified traffic problems such as aggressive
driving, increasing seat belt use is still the single most effective way to
save lives and reduce injuries on America's roadways.
    "Adults who don't buckle up are sending children a deadly message that it
is all right not to wear a seat belt," said Janet Dewey.  "Children imitate
adult behavior.  Research shows that if a driver is unbuckled, 70 percent of
the time children riding in that vehicle won't be buckled either.  If a driver
is belted, 94 percent of the time children will be belted, too."
    According to an Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study, properly
restrained children in the back seat have the lowest crash death rates.
Children 12 and under should never ride in the front seat in a car with a
passenger side air bag.  And in cars without air bags, children are 35 percent
safer riding in the back seat.
    "The cost for unbuckled drivers and passengers goes beyond those killed
and the loss to their families," said Chuck Hurley, the National Safety
Council.  "Those who wear belts are heavily subsidizing those who don't -- in
higher taxes, higher health care and higher insurance costs."
    On average, hospital costs for an unbelted crash victim are 50 percent
higher than those for a belted crash victim.  Society bears 85 percent of
those costs, not the individuals involved.  Every American pays about $580 a
year toward the cost of crashes.
    Standard enforcement, or primary, seat belt laws allow police to stop and
ticket like any other routine traffic violation.  These stronger laws have
raised California's seat belt use to 87 percent, New Mexico's to 85 percent,
and North Carolina's to 83 percent.  To date, only 13 states and the District
of Columbia have enacted primary laws.
    The Air Bag Safety Campaign is an intensive education and action campaign
by a public/private partnership of automobile manufacturers, insurance
companies, occupant restraint manufacturers, government agencies, health
professionals, and child health and safety organizations.  The goal of the
campaign is to increase the proper use of safety belts and child safely seats
and to inform the public about how to maximize the 1ifesaving capabilities of
air bags while minimizing the risks.

SOURCE  Air Bag Safety Campaign