Teens Making Poor Choices When It Comes to Riding in Vehicles

Meharry Medical College study finds only 42% of teen passengers are buckling
up

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Injury prevention experts have
long known that teens are less likely than other motorists to wear seat belts
while driving. Now, researchers from the Meharry-State Farm(R) Alliance at
Meharry Medical College have discovered lack of seat belt use by teen
passengers may be an even bigger problem.
In the first ever direct comparison of the differences between driver and
passenger seat belt use for a nationally representative teen population, the
Meharry researchers found that 59% of teens always buckled up in the driver
seat but only 42% always wore seat belts as passengers. Even more sobering,
only 38% of all teens reported always buckling up as both drivers and
passengers.
The study population comprised over 12,000 African American, white, and
Hispanic public and private high school students ages 16 or older who
participated in the 2001 and 2003 National Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. The
surveys are conducted every two years by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention to track the leading causes of death and disability among U.S.
teens.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for U.S. teens,
accounting for nearly 5,000 fatalities each year. About 40% of all teen motor
vehicle occupant deaths involve passengers.
"Because seat belts can reduce the risk of injury and death in crashes by
more than 50%, there is a critical need for interventions to increase seat
belt use by teens as both drivers and passengers," said Nathaniel Briggs, MD,
MSc, lead researcher on the study, published in the September 2008 issue of
the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
To address the issue, Briggs and his colleagues recommend a combination of
approaches.
-- Upgrade state seat belt laws to uniformly require that teen motor
vehicle occupants in the rear seat be secured in seat belts. Currently,
the majority of state laws are limited to front seat coverage for some
or all teens in the 16-19 age group.
-- Upgrade state seat belt laws from "secondary" (law enforcement officers
can ticket motorists for seat belt law violations only after stopping
them for another offense) to "primary" (law enforcement officers can
stop and ticket motorists solely for seat belt law violations).
-- Enhance enforcement efforts directed toward teen motorists.
-- Develop comprehensive, community-based interventions including
education, peer-to-peer persuasion, and parental monitoring.

"This research reinforces why State Farm is actively involved in
advocating for laws that help prevent injuries and deaths resulting from motor
vehicle crashes. It's clear from these findings that primary seat belt laws
for all occupants would help us accomplish that goal," said Laurette Stiles,
Vice-President - Strategic Resources at State Farm.
Additionally, the researchers pointed out a need for targeted
interventions that address those teen subpopulations least likely to wear seat
belts regardless of whether they are drivers or passengers, including young
men, African Americans, students experiencing academic difficulties, and those
with a history of either drinking and driving or riding with a drinking
driver.
About the Meharry-State Farm Alliance
The Meharry-State Farm Alliance, established in 2002, unites the
historically black academic health sciences center and the nation's largest
automobile insurer in a drive to save lives on the nation's highways. It
engages in scholarly research, education, community outreach, and public
policy initiatives to advocate for an increase in the appropriate and
consistent use of seat belts. It focuses primarily on African American
populations that suffer disproportionate rates of preventable deaths and
injuries due to their failure to buckle up, especially youth, seniors, and
urban motorists.
About Meharry Medical College
Meharry Medical College is the nation's largest private, independent
historically black institution dedicated solely to educating health science
professionals. Since its founding in 1876 it has been a leading educator of
African American physicians, dentists, and biomedical scientists. The College
is particularly well known for: uniquely nurturing, highly effective
educational programs; preeminence in health disparities research; culturally
sensitive, evidence-based health services; and its significant contribution to
the diversity of the nation's health professions workforce. Visit
http://www.mmc.edu.
About State Farm(R)
State Farm(R) insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the
U.S., is the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in
Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 67,000 employees serve over 77 million
auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more
than 1.9 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No.
32 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please
visit statefarm.com(R) or in Canada statefarm.ca(R).
SOURCE Meharry-State Farm Alliance

Linda Sparks, Communications Specialist of Meharry-State Farm Alliance ,
+1-615-327-6773, lsparks@mmc.edu