Teens rarely use seat belts, either as drivers or passengers
August 28th, 2008 - 1:01 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Aug 28 (ANI): Injury prevention experts have long understood that teens prefer not to wear seat belts while driving. Now, a new research has found that adolescent passengers also rarely use seat belts.
In the first ever-direct comparison of the differences between driver and passenger seat belt use for teen population, the Meharry researchers found that 59percent of teens always buckled up in the driver seat but only 42 percent always wore seat belts as passengers.
Even more sobering, only 38 percent 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.
“Because seat belts can reduce the risk of injury and death in crashes by more than 50percent, 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. (ANI)
- Reluctance to use seat belt kills 5,000 teens every year in US - Aug 28, 2008
- CDC: Seat belt usage is now around 85 percent - Jan 08, 2011
- CDC Study Finds Seat Belt Usage At 85 Percent - Jan 07, 2011
- Anxiety, depression accounts for risky driving - May 18, 2011
- 22pc of drivers don't wear seatbelts: UK study - Jun 29, 2010
- Excessive computer use spurs risky behaviour among teens - Apr 26, 2011
- Teens prefer a shot of liquor to a bottle of beer, finds study - Mar 09, 2011
- Obesity 'ups death risk in severe vehicle crashes' - Dec 22, 2010
- Obesity increases death risk in vehicle crashes - Dec 22, 2010
- Study says 'pep talk can reduce violence, alcoholic problems among teenagers' - Aug 04, 2010
- Obese and overweight women, kids think they weigh less - Mar 24, 2011
- Inadequate diet 'can cause anemia in postmenopausal women' - Mar 25, 2011
- Fatal car crashes involving teen drivers declining: Report - Oct 25, 2010
- Study shows breast cancer risk factors differ among races - Apr 26, 2010
- Watching TV, video and computer for hours can make teens fatter - Sep 21, 2010
Tags: american journal of preventive medicine, high school students, journal of preventive medicine, nathaniel briggs, prevention experts, risk behavior surveys, seat belts, study population, teen population, youth risk behavior
