Attitudes toward a primary seat belt law among adults in a rural state with a secondary seat belt law.
OBJECTIVE
Enforced primary seatbelt laws can reduce morbidity and mortality associated with motor-vehicle crashes. Constituent support is an important factor associated with legislator voting behavior toward injury prevention laws. Little is known about attitudes toward a primary seat belt law among adults in rural states without a primary seat belt law.


METHODS
Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey, a telephone survey of a representative sample of adults in Montana, were used to assess attitudes toward a primary seat belt law.


RESULTS
Sixty-one percent of respondents supported a primary seat belt law. Using multiple logistic regression analyses, women (AOR 1.87; 95% CI 1.49-2.36), persons aged 65 years and older (1.45; 1.06-1.96), American Indians (2.71; 1.55-4.75), those with health insurance (1.51; 1.07-2.14), and those who reported always wearing their seat belt (4.05; 3.14-5.21) were more likely to support a primary seat belt law than respondents without these characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
The majority of adults in a rural state support a primary seat belt law.
Perkins
Bobbi Jo
BJ
Injury Prevention Program, Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Bureau, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Helena, MT, USA.
Helgerson
Steven D
SD
Harwell
Todd S
TS
D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009009:Montana; D012424:Rural Population; D012622:Seat Belts / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D055815:Young Adult