Effectiveness of a selective traffic enforcement program combined with incentives for seat belt use in Quebec

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Abstract
The effectiveness of the Selective Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) in increasing the rate of seat belt use is a well known fact since the first Canadian experiment conducted in Ottawa by Transport Canada and local police departments (Jonah et al., 1982). A STEP on seat belt usage applied in eight different areas in Québec during 1986 led to an 18.1% increase in the use of that safety device (Dussault, 1987). Those results and the experience acquired produced an improved STEP version implemented on a province-wide basis in Quebec during the fall of 1987. Accordingly, the Quebec seat belt use rate jumped from 67.7% in 1986 to 85.8% in 1987 (Transport Canada, 1989), the highest rate ever achieved in North America. The paper reviews the three main components of this project: public education, enforcement and the use of incentives on a large scale. Measures that could be introduced to achieve a 90% or better seat belt use rate are also briefly discussed.

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