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Evaluation of primary safety belt laws in California, Louisiana and Georgia
Technical Paper
1998-12-0016
Published October 05, 1998 by Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine in United States
Sector:
Language:
English
Abstract
This study evaluated three states that changed to primary
enforcement of safety belt laws, collecting statewide seat belt
observation data for several years and conducting monthly seat belt
observations for 6 months after passage of the primary law in 6
California cities, 5 Louisiana cities, and 5 Georgia cities
(average 1,000-6,000 vehicles a month); monthly motorist surveys at
DMVs for 6 months in these sites (n = 7,061); focus groups with law
enforcement officers and supervisors in each site; and citations
issued locally and statewide for several years.
Observed belt use increased substantially in California (+18
percentage points) and in Louisiana (+16 percentage points).
Smaller increases were seen in Georgia initially, but grew the
following year. In each state, most motorists understood that they
could be stopped by a police officer for a belt use violation
alone. In Louisiana and Georgia, there was no evidence that one
racial group was targeted for enforcement as compared to any other
racial group.