The effects of primary enforcement laws and fine levels on seat belt usage in the United States.

Background: Seat belt use in the United States increased from 11 percent in 1979 to 86 percent in 2012. Most of this increase has been attributed to seat belt laws, primary law upgrades, and highly visible enforcement. There has been less research on the effect of fines on seat belt usage.

Publicized sobriety checkpoint programs: a community guide systematic review.

Context: Publicized sobriety checkpoint programs deter alcohol-impaired driving by stopping drivers systematically to assess their alcohol impairment. Sobriety checkpoints were recommended in 2001 by the Community Preventive Services Task Force for reducing alcohol-impaired driving, based on strong evidence of effectiveness. Since the 2001 review, attention to alcohol-impaired driving as a U.

Scientific evidence and policy change: lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers to 0.08% in the USA.

The United States (US) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and key partners conducted a systematic review of the effectiveness of 0.08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws on alcohol-related traffic mortality. Review findings of strong evidence of effectiveness were presented by partners during US Congressional hearings contributing to the passage of a bill requiring states to lower the legal BAC limit to 0.

Effectiveness of ignition interlocks for preventing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes: a Community Guide systematic review.

A systematic review of the literature to assess the effectiveness of ignition interlocks for reducing alcohol-impaired driving and alcohol-related crashes was conducted for the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). Because one of the primary research issues of interest--the degree to which the installation of interlocks in offenders' vehicles reduces alcohol-impaired driving in comparison to alternative sanctions (primarily license suspension)--was addressed by a 2004 systematic review conducted for the Cochrane Collaboration, the current review incorporates that previous work and extends it to include more recent literature and crash outcomes. The body of evidence evaluated includes the 11 studies from the prior review, plus four more recent studies published through December 2007.

Translating evidence into policy: lessons learned from the case of lowering the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers.

This case study examines the translation of evidence on the effectiveness of laws to reduce the blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of drivers into policy. It was reconstructed through discussions among individuals involved in the processes as well as a review of documentation and feedback on oral presentations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention collaborated extensively with federal and non-federal partners and stakeholders in conducting a rigorous systematic review, using the processes of the Guide to Community Preventive Services to evaluate the body of empirical evidence on 0.

Effectiveness of multicomponent programs with community mobilization for reducing alcohol-impaired driving.

A systematic review was conducted to determine the effectiveness and economic efficiency of multicomponent programs with community mobilization for reducing alcohol-impaired driving. The review was conducted for the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). Six studies of programs qualified for the review.

Impact of primary safety belt laws on alcohol-related front-seat occupant fatalities: five case studies.

Objective: Impaired drivers and other high-risk road users are less likely to use their safety belts, thus increasing the risk of fatal injury in the event of a crash. Although safety belt laws have been shown to increase wearing rates for daytime non-crash-involved drivers and their front-seat passengers, little evidence is available on the effect these laws have on belt usage by crash-involved drinking drivers and their passengers.

Methods: This study evaluated the influence of primary safety belt law upgrades from secondary laws on front-seat occupants of passenger cars driven by drinking drivers in fatal crashes in five states: California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Washington.

The impact of a nationwide effort to reduce airbag-related deaths among children: an examination of fatality trends among younger and older age groups.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a nationwide response to emerging airbag-related deaths among children. This response, implemented in 1996, focused on moving children to a rear seat and increasing proper restraint usage.

Method: Fatality trends from 1992 through 1996 and from 1996 through 2003 were examined for younger children (ages 0-3) and for older children (ages 4-12).

A meta-analysis of .08 BAC laws in 19 jurisdictions in the United States.

More than a dozen studies on the effectiveness of the .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) laws have been published; however, those studies have varied both in the statistical methods and the type of outcome measure used, so it is difficult to integrate the findings into an overall estimate of the effectiveness of the law. This study used a consistent outcome measure, drinking drivers in fatal crashes and an identical methodology time-series analysis, to analyze the introduction of the .

Effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing drinking and driving and alcohol-involved crashes: a systematic review.

A systematic review of the effectiveness of mass media campaigns for reducing alcohol-impaired driving (AID) and alcohol-related crashes was conducted for the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). In eight studies that met quality criteria for inclusion in the review, the median decrease in alcohol-related crashes resulting from the campaigns was 13% (interquartile range: 6% to 14%). Economic analyses of campaign effects indicated that the societal benefits were greater than the costs.

The effect of earned and paid media strategies in high visibility enforcement campaigns.

The primary objective of this paper is to describe the impact of national seat belt enforcement mobilizations in terms of changes in public awareness, perceptions, and opinions as they relate to Operation ABC (Always Buckle Up). In order to monitor changes in public awareness and perceptions, a number of national telephone surveys were conducted. Survey results indicated that the following characteristics were associated with lower self-reported seat belt use rates: (a) males; (b) 18-34 age group; (c) persons with lower income; (d) persons with lower education; (e) persons living in rural areas; (f) residents of the Northeast, Midwest, and Great Lakes; (g) residents of states with secondary enforcement laws; and (h) persons less likely to read a newspaper and more likely to listen to the radio.

Effectiveness of primary enforcement safety belt laws and enhanced enforcement of safety belt laws: a summary of the Guide to Community Preventive Services systematic reviews.

Background: The use of safety belts is the single most effective means of reducing fatal and nonfatal injuries in motor-vehicle crashes. This paper summarizes the systematic reviews of two interventions to increase safety belt use: primary enforcement safety belt laws and enhanced enforcement of safety belt laws. The reviews were previously published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Primary enforcement seat belt laws are effective even in the face of rising belt use rates.

A recent systematic literature review found that primary enforcement laws are more effective at increasing seat belt use than secondary laws in the United States. This report re-examines the studies included in the systematic review to explore whether the benefits of a primary law differ based on: (1) the baseline seat belt use rate; or (2) whether or not the primary law replaces a secondary law. States that directly enacted primary laws showed larger increases in observed seat belt use (median increase of 33 percentage points).