The Case for Mandatory Seat Restraint Laws

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Abstract
Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death and injury to chil dren over one year of age in the United States. About 800 motor vehicle occu pants less than four years old are killed each year and tens of thousands are injured severely enough to require emergency room treatment. Studies have demonstrated that the vast majority of children ride unprotected in motor vehicles. Restrained children are likely to have milder injuries or no injuries at all. One study intimates that seat belts or restraints could reduce injuries up to 70 per cent and deaths up to 90 per cent. Various educational efforts have been attempted to increase restraint and belt use. Most have not worked. Seat belt laws in other countries have been effective in increasing belt use by adults when the laws are enforced. In Tennessee, where a mandatory seat restraint law has been part of a large-scale educational effort, restraint use has increased from an average of 9 per cent prior to the law, to an average of 18.7 per cent in the fall of 1979. Because the problem of motor vehicle-related deaths and injuries is widespread and because legislation holds some promise for amelioration of this problem, pediatricians and public health professionals should work toward the passage of such laws.

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