Publication Details

The use of economic incentives and education to modify safety belt use behavior of high school students

Type: article

Author(s): Campbell, B. J.; Hunter, William W.; Stutts, Jane C.

Pages: 30-33

Url: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00970050.1984.10615750

Publication Date: Sept-1984

Journal: Health education

Volume: 15

Issue: 5

Issn: 0097-0050

Doi: 10.1080/00970050.1984.10615750

Pmid: 6444039

Abstract: Nearly 45,000 Americans are killed annually in motor vehicle accidents, and another two million suffer disabling injuries. The resulting cost to society has been estimated at over $50 billion (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration [NHTSA], 1983). Most of these traffic deaths and injuries are incurred by drivers and passeners of automobiles who are not properly restrained. According to NHTSA, over 15,000 lives could be saved annually if safety belts were worn (NHTSA, 1981). Research carried out by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center [HSRC] suggests that the actual number of lives saved could be even higher. Investigation of over 100,000 motor vehicle accidents in North Carolina showed safety belts to be as much as 75% effective in preventing deaths, and 50% effective in preventing serious injuries in motor vehicle crashes (Campbell & Reinfurt, 1979). Approximately three out of every four unbelted occupants killed in an automobile accident last year might be alive today if they had been wearing safety belts at the time of the crash.