Prevalence and Issues in Non-Use of Safety Belts and Child Restraints in a High-Income Developing Country: Lessons for the Future

Abstract

SB legislation failed to protect the population, with low use of restraints by citizens, military, and police, and virtually none among children and rear passengers. Lessons include the necessity of drafting laws that provide comprehensive and effective protection, study of cultural constraints to compliance with injury prevention measures, and locally effective interventions to prepare citizens and enforcers for the expected new behaviour. Highly tinted glass is widespread and poses a barrier to enforcement.

Availability, functionality, and use of seat belts in Beijing taxis prior to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games

“…International research has identified several reasons for belt non-use including: discomfort associated with wearing, forgetting to secure the belt, perceived uselessness of the restraint, carelessness, perceived danger associated with belt use, interference with movement in the vehicle, and lack of established habit (Barss et al, 2008;Shinar, 2007;Simsekoglu and Lajunen, 2008). In China, additional reasons reported include traveling at low speed and traveling short distances, both perceived as negating the need for restraint use (Stevenson et al, 2007).…”

Child and Youth Traffic-Related Injuries: Use of a Trauma Registry to Identify Priorities for Prevention in the United Arab Emirates

“…Children in the rear were one half to two thirds less likely to sustain injury than those in the front, after adjusting for confounding crash, vehicle, and child factors (Arbogast et al 2009). Previous research in the UAE showed extremely low use of child restraints (Barss et al 2008), despite major evidence in the literature documenting a decreased risk of occupant injury and fatality with restraint use. The NHTSA (2001) estimated that proper use of child restraints reduces the risk of fatality among infants by 71 percent and among toddlers by 54 percent.…”

“…Similarly, only 3 percent of UAE national front-seat passengers used safety belts versus 24 percent of non-nationals (Barss et al 2008). This was due to a lack of primary enforcement, the fact that current legislation fails to protect rear-seat occupants and children, and cultural differences.…”

“…During 2000-2006 there were 460 traffic-related deaths reported among 0-to 14-year-olds in the UAE, an annual average of 66 (Grivna et al 2008;Ministry of Health UAE 2007). This could be a serious underestimate, because there were 1112 police-reported deaths due to children being struck by cars during (Hamilton and Chung 2009.…”

Trauma in women of child-bearing age in a high-income developing country

“…Bener and Crandall [16] have attributed this to careless driving and excessive speed. Furthermore, Barrs et al [17] showed a low compliance rate (11%) for using seatbelts in Al-Ain city. Females represented 11.2% of all RTC patients in our study (Table 2).…”