title: Seatbelt law enforcement and motor vehicle crash fatalities among blacks and whites in Louisiana and Mississippi.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Seatbelt laws save lives. Primary enforcement (allowing citations solely for seatbelt nonuse) is a more effective means of saving lives, yet seven southern states have no primary laws, due in part to concern about racial profiling.
  
  
  METHODS
  Non-Hispanic, black:white (B:W), occupant motor vehicle crash mortality rate ratios (MRRs) were compared across the 15 to 64 age range over two time periods in two demographically comparable southern states (Louisiana and Mississippi).
  
  
  RESULTS
  From 1992 to 1994 (when neither state had primary law) to 1996 to 1998 (when Louisiana had primary law) B:W MRRs were 0.73 (95% confidence interval = 0.61, 0.88) and 0.72 (0.60, 0.86) in Louisiana and 1.01 (0.9, 1.12) and 1.22 (1.10, 1.35) in Mississippi.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Successful opposition to primary seat belt enforcement may have the unintended effect of producing racial disparities in motor vehicle crash mortality that adversely affects blacks.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Primary Care, Department of Community Medicine/Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School Of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 33010, USA. rlevine@msm.edu
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Levine
authors.forename: Nathaniel C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Briggs
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Schlundt
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Stinson
authors.forename: Rueben C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Irwin A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Goldzweig
mesh_terms: D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000639:trends; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035846:Law Enforcement; D008145:Louisiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D015996:Survival Rate / Q000639:trends; D044465:White People