Focus on Teen Safety Belt Usage Rates

Safety belt usage saves lives in traffic crashes. The Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety is constantly looking for ways to convey this message to teenagers throughout the state and encourage them to buckle up to save lives and reduce injuries in vehicle crashes.

Nationally, teens lag behind in safety belt usage by three percent and are leaders in traffic crash rates: a deadly combination. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for young drivers, with 3,657 drivers aged 15-20 years old killed in 2003. A 2004 study reports that nearly 64 percent of teens killed in traffic crashes each year are not wearing their safety belts.

Despite these alarming statistics, teens continually refrain from using safety belts. So the coalition teamed up with the Institute of Public Policy and the Truman School of Public Affairs at the University of Missouri-Columbia to conduct several focus groups. The purpose was to provide insight on how young Missouri drivers make decisions on safety belt use and to determine what outreach methods have the potential to influence their future decisions related to traffic safety.

Twelve focus groups took place this summer across the state and surveyed 101 teens, ages 11-19. Participants were fairly representative of Missouri’s population and were from both urban and rural areas.

Several key findings materialized from the focus groups:

• Parental belt usage habits impact whether the teens use them. Although teens may not model good seat belt usage behaviors, they are more likely to not use safety belts if their parents don’t use them.
• Urban legends about safety belts are firmly rooted in Missouri culture, including the most common misconception that seat belts could kill someone.
• Realism should be used in public outreach and advertising efforts toward teens. They prefer people who are like them and have relevant experiences to share.
• Significant law enforcement efforts and higher fines would be most influential in encouraging the teens to wear their seat belts.

The coalition plans to use these findings in their next educational blitz in the upcoming months when they focus on increasing teen safety belt use.