“Click it or Ticket” Seat Belt Laws Reduce Auto Accident Injury, Death Rates

Next week kicks off the national “Click it or Ticket” campaign, designed to raise awareness about the importance of seat belts, as police make an increased effort to be on the lookout for drivers that are not buckling up.

While seat belt laws remain a secondary offense in many states, only allowing police to issue a citation for not wearing a seat belt if a driver is pulled over for another offense, states that have adopted stricter seat-belt laws, which make the lack of a seat belt a primary offense, are seeing positive results, reducing the risk of death or serious injury from auto accidents.

According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Public Health, strict seat belt laws have a big impact on teen drivers, creating good seat belt habits that are likely to increase their safety throughout the rest of their driving years.

Researchers looked at the 2006 National Young Driver Survey and a sample of 3,126 high school drivers. They found that teen drivers were 12% less likely to wear a seatbelt while driving in states that do not have primary seat belt laws. The rate was even worse for teen passengers, who were 15% less likely to wear a safety belt in those states where the police cannot pull you over simply for not buckling up.

In states where seat belt laws are only a secondary offense, teens were less likely to get into the habit of wearing a seat belt as they went from learner to unrestricted license holder. Teens were also less likely to wear safety belts in those states if they lived in rural areas, drove pickup trucks, were academically challenged or were African Americans.

The undisputed fact is that seat belts save lives and prevent catastrophic injuries every day. Auto accidents are going to happen (at least until we are all riding in self-driven Google cars), so it is important to establish the habit of seat belt use early and strict enforcement laws have a clear impact on increasing use of seat belts.

Auto Accident Head Trauma Risks for Teen Drivers

A new study by Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and State Farm Insurance indicates that auto accidents cause more fatal head injuries for teens than any other types of events.

According to the report, “Miles to go: Monitoring Progress in Teen Driver Safety”, substantial progress is being made to reduce the risks associated with car accidents involving teen drivers. However, injuries sustained in accidents continue to be the leading cause of death for teens, with traumatic brain injuries and skull fractures following car crashes accounting for about 30% of the 55,000 serious injuries that occurred in 2009 and 2010.

Researchers determined that states with the most stringent driving laws had lower numbers of children who died in car crashes. States with loose driving laws had significantly more teen car accident deaths. Those laws often require the teen to have at least 50 hours of adult-supervised driving experience, limits the number of passengers a teen driver can carry, requires seat belt use and restricts the amount of driving that can be done at night.

The report also found that teens were more likely to adhere to seat belt laws in states with the strictest driving rules.

Overall, researchers saw improvements in teen driving safety over the last several years. From 2005 to 2010 the death rate among teen drivers dropped 46 percent, according to the report.

Should Older Drivers Be Required to Obtain Physician Screenings?

As the “baby boom” generation grows older, there are an increasing number of senior citizens on the road, and some doctors are suggesting that older drivers should be required to establish that they are medically fit to drive, in an effort to reduce the risk of serious and potentially life-threatening injuries from auto accidents.

In an editorial published last month in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, Dr. Donald Redelmeier indicates that the current approach of restricting a senior citizen’s ability to drive only after they have a number of moving violations may need a more proactive approach.

According to the editorial, mandatory screenings should be required, because seniors are not only likely to have slower reflexes and perception, but may be on medications that impair their reaction and ability to drive well. A study by the AAA foundation in 2009 found that 69% of Americans 55 and older are using medications that may impair their driving skills.

While the odds any such a measure becoming law in the U.S. seems extremely remote, it raises the question of why stop with seniors? If doctors believe that drivers must establish that they are medically fit to drive, why not make that a requirement for all drivers, as even younger adults could develop conditions that impact their ability to safely drive?

Auto Accident Deaths Spike on Tax Day

According to new research, drivers should be careful on Monday, as tax day is consistently the deadliest day of the year on roads throughout the United States, with more auto accident deaths than any other comparable day.

The study was published in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), indicating that there was an average of 13 more road fatalities annually on the day income taxes are due in the United States than on any other day.

Researchers collected crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on tax day from 1980 to 2009.

They found a six percent spike in road fatalities that affected drivers, passengers and pedestrians. On a normal day around the same time of year, there were an average of 213 fatal crashes. However, on tax day the average rose to 226.

Although the data does not provide causes, the researchers speculate that the increase is a combination of the increased number of people on the road trying to file at the last minute, many of whom are stressed out. Some of that stress comes from waiting until the last minute, but in other cases it is possibly because tax filers waited until the last minute because they owe, often for the first time, and are worried about their tax situation.

The stress leads to distracted drivers, which leads to auto accidents which sometimes turn fatal, researchers said. While the study focused on fatal crashes, the researchers noted that they saw an increase in non-fatal accidents as well.

Although April 15 is typically tax day, this year tax day falls on April 17th due to the weekend, so be careful. While it is probably too late for advice like “file earlier”, hopefully with the increasing number of electronic filings, this increased risk of auto accidents on tax day will disappear in future years.

15 Passenger Van Rollover Risk Highlighted in NHTSA Safety Tips

Federal traffic safety officials have released a consumer advisory, providing a list of safety tips for those operating 15-passenger vans, which have been found to carry a particular risk for rollover accidents that can have tragic consequences.

The use of 15 passenger vans is particularly common among churches, colleges and other organizations, and they are typically not operated by commercial drivers or companies with a focus on the safe transport of people.

The advisory was issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on March 22, urging everyone travelling in 15 Passenger Vans to use a seat belt on every trip.

The NHTSA also warns that the vans are particularly sensitive to loading and warns that they should not be overloaded under any circumstances. When overloaded, the vans are at an increased risk of suffering a rollover accident, and the vans generally handle poorly and are more unstable when overloaded.

Another factor that could increase the risk of a rollover accident with a 15 passenger van is poor tire pressure. The NHTSA urges all vehicle users to insure that the tires for their vans are the appropriate size and properly inflated before every trip. Spare tires should not be used as anything more than emergency replacements, as they are often older, and most tire manufacturers call for vehicle operators not to use tires that are older than 10 years.

Other tips from the NHTSA include:

• Owners should make sure the vehicles are regularly maintained.
•  Owners should have suspension and steering inspected according to the manufacturer’s recommended schedule and make repairs and replacements as needed.
•  Drivers should be properly licensed and should have experience operating 15-passenger vans.

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