Twenty-three states, the District of Columbia, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, had seat belt use rates of 90% or more in 2017. [7] The pelvic girdle and shoulder strap should be fixed by the hip and chest. It also states: “Properly worn shoulder straps and shoulder straps provide the highest level of protection for school bus passengers in all accident scenarios, including frontal, side and rear impacts – and rollovers.” If you have a vehicle that was purchased before manufacturers had to put on seat belts, or if your car was purchased in a country where seat belts are not required, it is your responsibility to install seat belts that meet current federal standards for motor vehicles. If you don`t have enough belts for the number of people in your family, you may be able to install a different belt if you have room in your vehicle. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, seat belts save more than 15,000 lives each year, but another 2,500 lives could be avoided if everyone were fastened. In an effort to protect as many people as possible, most states have introduced seat belt laws, but the laws of all states are not the same. The effectiveness of primary seat belt laws is measured in several ways. Seat belt use is the most common measure and can be captured by observational studies or self-reports. The Annual National Occupant Protection Use Survey (NOPUS), conducted annually by NHTSA, estimates daily seat belt use by direct observation at intersections studied probabilistically over the course of a month of the year.
Other observational studies have only examined front seat occupants and distinguished between night and day use. Self-reported use of seat belts is often defined as “always” with a seat belt in a motor vehicle, regardless of sitting position. Occupant injuries, fatalities and death rates from car and light truck accidents were also used to measure the effectiveness of seat belt law. One study used regression analysis to estimate the impact of the severity of seat belt laws (the least stringent [no law or fines] to the strictest [main application for all occupants]) on the mortality rate per mile, expressed as the ratio of the total annual number of road deaths to the millions of annual vehicle-kilometres travelled (Traynor, 2009). Medical cost savings have also been used to calculate the effectiveness of primary enforcement of seat belt laws (Conner, Xiang, & Smith, 2010). The Tennessee Bill`s budget note estimates that the average price of a new bus equipped with a “passenger restraint system” would be $110,000. It was estimated that the average increase in the price of a seat belt bus would be about $10,000. The shoulder strap should be in the middle of your chest and not touch your neck.
“Whether you have a seat belt on the bus or not, the most important thing you need to do is sit properly in the seat,” Martin said. Violation of Tennessee`s seat belt laws is considered a Class C offense. A person charged and convicted of this violation may pay a fine of $25 for a first violation and $50 for a second or subsequent violation in lieu of a hearing date. Previously, fines were lower, but the law was amended in 2016 to bring them to current assessments. Seat belt laws are effective in reducing the number of deaths in car accidents. [21] One study found that mandatory buckling laws reduced road fatalities by 8% and serious traffic accidents by 9%. [22] Primary seat belt laws appear to be more effective than secondary laws in reducing the number of fatalities in accidents. [23] [24] Knox County Schools has found ways to deal with this problem. Chief Operating Officer Russ Oaks said the county has worked with the Knox County Sheriff`s Office, police department and highway patrol to strengthen law enforcement programs for those who ignore stop signs that use buses when children board and board the bus. Despite fatal school bus accidents in recent years that have led Tennessee lawmakers to propose similar mandates, the voluntary state does not have a school bus seat belt law. Thirty-four states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands have primary implementing laws for front seats. [3] [4] “New York enacted the first belt use law in 1984.
Other states quickly followed. In a typical state, belt use rapidly increased to about 50% shortly after the state`s belt law went into effect” (UNC Highway Safety Research Center, 2011, pp. 2-4). Until 1996, all states except New Hampshire had a mandatory seat belt law that covered drivers and front seat occupants. Traynor, 2009, examined correlations between recent changes in youth driving regulations, DWI laws, seat belt laws, and differences in road deaths using 1999-2003 data from the 48 contiguous states. After taking into account many factors that affected the risk of accidental death, such as weather conditions, law enforcement expenses and speed limits, he found that the death rate per kilometer decreased insignificantly with the increasing severity of seat belt laws, where a primary law was the strictest for all occupants. The author suggested that this could be due to the design of the model, which takes into account the interaction between seat belt laws and alcohol restrictions for drivers. [Hedlund, Gilbert et al., 2008] examined the impact of changes to primary law on seat belt use and inmate deaths in Michigan, New Jersey, Washington, Delaware, Illinois and Tennessee. In FARS data for all 6 states, strong evidence was found that primary seat belt laws increase seat belt use. In addition, statistically significant decreases in the number of passenger car occupant deaths in front seats were noted in Michigan and Washington, D.C., and the decline in New Jersey was marginally significant. The lack of a significant impact on deaths in Illinois and Tennessee, as well as a slight increase in Delaware, were attributed in part to the short time since primary regulation was implemented in those states, as well as the low number of deaths in Delaware. (UNC Centre for Road Safety Research, 2011, pp.
2-13) The National Transportation Safety Board recommends that all new school buses be equipped with seat belts for lengths and shoulders. California, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York and Texas have laws that require restrictions. “As of July 2010, 31 states and the District of Columbia had primary belt use laws, 18 states had secondary enforcement laws, and New Hampshire had no Adult Belt Use Act (IIHS, [undated])” (UNC Highway Safety Research Center, 2011, pp. 2-13). Seat belt laws vary depending on whether they cover only front seat occupants or also include rear seat occupants. In some states, seat belt use is a secondary law for drivers and passengers over a certain age (varies by state), but a primary law for younger passengers. Tenn. Code Ann. Article 55-9-603 states that Tennessee is a primary seat belt state.
This means that drivers must fasten their seatbelts at all times when driving a motor vehicle. The driver and passenger, as well as passengers under the age of 18 and driving in the back seat of a car, are covered by this law. You must fasten your seat belt at all times and have it fastened properly when the vehicle is in motion. Drivers over the age of 18 do not need to wear a seat belt when in the back seat, although this is highly recommended. If your vehicle`s seat belts are too small to fit comfortably, belt extensions are available for most vehicles. If you need an extender, take your car to a dealership to install one. L. Beck and West, 2011, also reviewed data on vehicle occupant injuries from the 2001-2009 National Electronic Injury Monitoring Program – All Injuries Program (NEISS-AIP).
The data are at the national level and do not allow comparisons between states with and without primary enforcement of seat belt laws, but show a 15.6% decrease in the violation rate, from 1,193.8 violations per 100,000 inhabitants in 2001 to 1,007.5 in 2009. During this period, 14 other states passed primary seat belt laws. In addition to the lack of state-specific data, no information is available on other injury-related factors, such as. B, the use of seat belts or seating belts, and only injuries reported in hospital emergency rooms are included, which would likely underestimate the number of injuries. Recent research (Masten, 2007) has strongly suggested that the shift from secondary to primary enforcement of seat belt laws increases occupants` seat belt use during the night, as well as the daylight hours when most observational investigations are conducted into seat belt use. (UNC Centre for Road Safety Research, 2011, pp. 2-13) Proponents of seat belts on school buses say they are simply the best way to keep students safe, and the cost doesn`t matter. .