Journal article
Association between driver and child passenger restraint: Analysis of community-based observational survey data from 2005 to 2019
Journal of safety research, Vol.79, pp.168-172
12/2021
DOI: 10.1016/j.jsr.2021.08.016
PMCID: PMC8805128
PMID: 34848000
Abstract
•Community-based child passenger restraint use rates are largely unknown.•Unbelted drivers were more likely to have unrestrained child passengers than belted.•Adherence to child restraint laws was eaxmined via community-based observations.•Unbelted teen drivers were much more likely to have an unrestrained child passenger.
Introduction: Crash data suggest an association between driver seatbelt use and child passenger restraint. However, community-based restraint use is largely unknown. We examined the association between driver seatbelt use and child restraint using data from a state-wide observational study. Methods: Data from Iowa Child Passenger Restraint Survey, a representative state-wide survey of adult seat belt use and child passenger safety, were analyzed. A total of 44,996 child passengers age 0–17 years were observed from 2005 to 2019. Information about driver seatbelt use and child restraint was directly observed by surveyors and driver age was reported. Logistic regression was used to examine the association between driver seatbelt use and child restraint adjusting for vehicle type, community size, child seating position, child passenger age, and year. Results: Over the 15-year study period, 4,114 (9.1%) drivers were unbelted, 3,692 (8.2%) children were completely unrestrained, and another 1,601 (3.6%) children were improperly restrained (analyzed as unrestrained). About half of unbelted drivers had their child passengers unrestrained (51.8%), while nearly all belted drivers had their child passengers properly restrained (92.3%). Compared with belted drivers, unbelted drivers had an 11-fold increased odds of driving an unrestrained child passenger (OR = 11.19, 95%CI = 10.36, 12.09). The association between driver seatbelt use and child restraint was much stronger among teenage drivers. Unbelted teenage drivers were 33-fold more likely (OR = 33.34, 95%CI = 21.11, 52.64) to have an unrestrained child passenger. Conclusion: These data suggest that efforts to increase driver seatbelt use may also have the added benefit of increasing child restraint use. Practical applications: Enforcement of child passenger laws and existing education programs for new drivers could be leveraged to increase awareness of the benefits of seatbelt use for both drivers themselves and their occupants. Interventions aimed at rural parents could emphasize the importance of child safety restraints.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Association between driver and child passenger restraint: Analysis of community-based observational survey data from 2005 to 2019
- Creators
- Celestin Missikpode - University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine, 1835 W Polk St, Chicago, IL 60612, United StatesCara J Hamann - University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Department of Epidemiology, 145 N. Riverside Dr., Iowa City, IA 52242, United StatesCorinne Peek-Asa - University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, 145 N. Riverside Dr., Iowa City, IA 52242, United States
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- Journal of safety research, Vol.79, pp.168-172
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.jsr.2021.08.016
- PMID
- 34848000
- PMCID
- PMC8805128
- NLM abbreviation
- J Safety Res
- ISSN
- 0022-4375
- eISSN
- 1879-1247
- Publisher
- Elsevier Ltd
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 12/2021
- Academic Unit
- Occupational and Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Nursing; Center for Social Science Innovation; Injury Prevention Research Center; Public Policy Center (Archive)
- Record Identifier
- 9984214951102771
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