The use of seat belts in cars with smart seat belt reminders--results of an observational study.
Recently, smart seat belt reminders (SBR) have been introduced in cars. By increasingly reminding drivers and passengers if they are not using the seat belt, the intention is to increase the belt use to almost 100%.


OBJECTIVE
The objective was to study if there were differences in driver's seat belt use between cars with and without SBR.


METHODS
Drivers of cars with and without SBR were observed concerning seat belt use. The case (cars with SBR) and the control group (cars without SBR) were similar in all major aspects except SBR. In all, more than 3,000 drivers were observed in five cities in Sweden.


RESULTS
In cars without SBR, 82.3 percent of the drivers used the seat belt, while in cars with SBR, the seat belt use was 98.9 percent. The difference was significant. In cars with mild reminders, the use was 93.0 percent.


CONCLUSIONS
It is concluded, that if the results can be generalised to the whole car population this would have a dramatic impact on the number of fatally and seriously injured car occupants.
Krafft
Maria
M
Folksam Research, Stockholm, Sweden. maria.krafft@folksam.se
Kullgren
Anders
A
Lie
Anders
A
Tingvall
Claes
C
D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000592:standards; D001336:Automobiles / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D019370:Observation; D017010:Reminder Systems; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013548:Sweden; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control