According to the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, "automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone" (Clayton, Helms, Simpson, 2006). Worldwide, vehicle accidents consist of 1.2 millions deaths per year, "behind only childhood infections and AIDS as cause of death amount people aged 5 to 30 years old" (Clayton., 2006). The annual cost of road accidents is estimated about $518 billion"(Factor, Yair, Mahalel, 2013). The fact alone of being in a moving, heavy vehicle is a danger in itself but individuals that do not wear their seat belts, talk on the phone, text, and do other distracting behavior also put themselves in even more harmful situations.
The fact that seat belts have been implemented into automotive vehicles since 1968 (Stowell & Bryant, 1978) makes it a very frustrating challenge for public health officials to get Americans to actually use the seat belts that are "virtually in every vehicle on the road" (Clayton et al., 2006). Due to the avoidance of individuals using seat belts, "most automobile industry attempts to prompt seat belt use has relied on negative reinforcements" (Clayton et al., 2006). These negative reinforcements include bells, light, loud noises, etc., in order to prompt the driver and other individuals in the vehicle to fasten their seat belts. Although they are seen as "negative", the reason behind these methods are for public health reasons alone.
Despite the many efforts that automobile industries have created, research has shown that many individuals disable these reinforcements although "seat belt use is the most effective way to save lives and reduce injuries in crashes" (http://www.cdc.gov/). Geller et al...
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...led in car accidents.
Sources:
1. Clayton, M., Helms, B., & Simpson, C. (2006) Active prompting to decrease cell phone use and increase seat belt use while driving. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, 341-349
2. Factor, R., Yair, G., & Mahelel, D. (2010) Who by accident? The Social morphology of car accidents. Risk Analysis: An International Journal, 30 (9), 1411-1423
3. Sowers-Hoag, K., Thyer B., Bailey, J., (1987) Promoting automobile safety belt use by young children. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis; 20, 133-138
3.Nathan Smith (2013, Novemeber 3). Theory of Planned Behavior.Youtube.com. Retrieved on March 25, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFn-IOcpd8A
4. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2011, Janurary 4). Motor Vehicle Safety. Cdc.com. Retrieved on March 25, 2014, from http://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/index.html
In North Carolina, the “Click It or Ticket” program was put into place in 1993 by former Governor Jim Hunt to increase safety belt and child safety use rates through stepped up enforcement of the state’s safety belt law. According to North Carolina’s safety belt law all drivers and front seat passengers over the age of 16 are required to wear safety belts. Children less than age 16 are covered under the North Carolina Child Restraint Law. This law requires that children must be buckled up no matter where they are seated in the vehicle. Violators of the safety belt law are issued tickets and are subject to a fine of $25 plus $50 court costs. These violations have been defined as “infractions” and are not entered on driving records. In addition to this, effective January 1, 2005, any child less than 8 years old or 80 pounds in weight must ride in a booster seat. Violations of this law will result in a $25 fine plus court costs as well as having 2 points placed against driver’s license. However, drivers cited for this violation of this law for a 5,6, or 7 year old will be able to have the charges dismissed if they present proof to the court that they have acquired an appropriate restraint for that child. Statistics have been gathered on safety belt use since this program began and has shown that seat belt use has increased from 65 percent to 84 percent. It has also shown that fatal and serious injuries in North Carolina have been cut by 14 percent. Resulting in a savings of at least $135 million in health care related costs. Other positive ef...
Is there in the world anything more essential than having a new opportunity of life? Although several individuals may possibly think an obligatory use of seat belt is a technique for causing people to feel a prisoner in their own car, putting on a seat belt would make the difference in a car accident. The use of seat belts provides security while driving; shows self-consciousness and has a role in government. That is why, the use of seat belts should be mandatory for drivers.
Toor, Amrit, Michael Araszewski and Ravinder Johal. Technical Assessment of Seatbelt Usage and Effectiveness. 2000. Intech. 26, Nov. 2002.
A provoking thought that auto-insurance have the most experience with accidents and claims then made sense when thinking about what is the number one cause of those accidents. If anyone should know what causes accidents, it would be the lawyers. Lawyers dealing with car accidents are experts on the leading causes of accidents because they deal with car accidents and auto-insurance claims daily. Jared Staver, of the Staver Law Group P.C, correlates with the misuse of cellphones behind the wheel by listing “Distracted Driving’ as the number one cause of accidents in an article named “Top 25 causes of Car Accidents and What You Can Do to Prevent Them”. Staver concludes “Distracted driving becomes a larger threat every year and has been the leading cause of car accidents for the past decade. Its effects grow every year. You should always pay attention to the road while you are driving. That means you should avoid using your cell phone to make a call, texting, eating, reading, grooming, and talking while behind the wheel. (Driving is not a good time to take a selfie.)”. The reader should notice the words “cell phone” appear in the examples given as this further proves that distracted driving is closely related to cell phone use. Texting while driving can be proven to be dangerous by a myriad of researchers in “A Meta-Analysis of the effects of texting and
Should the government mandate the use of safety belts, or should the decision be left up to the individual? Having worked as a Registered Respiratory Therapist for many years, I have been directly involved in the care of many individuals who were the unfortunate victims of automobile accidents. Some of those individuals had good outcomes and others didn’t, as was the case with the young husband and father that I previously mentioned. It has however, always been abundantly clear that those who were wearing their safety belts at the time of their accident fared well better than those who were not, and typically always had significantly better outcomes regardless of what their injuries were. Based on that experience (alone?), as well as my experience with a few of my own fender benders, I am a ferocious advocate for the use of safety belts, regardless if the government mandates their use or not.
“Car accidents are the No. 1 cause of death of teens” says Cricket Fuller, he also says that “a quarter of all teen-driving crashes are attributed to distract driving”. Even though the death rate of teen drivers is going down, an average of seven deaths a day still occur (Kowalski). Debacco-Ernie had said that “any time a teen driver is out on the road after 10 p.m., the probability of them being involved in a crash increases dramatically” (Carr).
What is as dangerous if not more dangerous than murder and suicide? A car accident is. Being in the seat of a vehicle put’s a driver’s life in jeopardy the instant they are in the seat of a vehicle. Adam Ford explains drivers licenses were issued first in the 1900s and conditions have changed substantially: More powerful cars exist, and more are on the road (Ford). With this notion, Ford explains why cars are more dangerous on the road; however, the types of cars that exist in present times are not the sole reason the road is more dangerous. John Pearson states, car accidents are the leading cause of death from ages three to thirty-five world-wide (Pearson). Mainly, drivers cause these car accidents. Cellphone usage in the US is one of the central contributors to car crashes, because the habits shaped from cellphone usage, such as texting generate danger. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than 500,000 people were injured and 5,500 were killed by distracted driving in 2009 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The road has become a progressively hazardous place with distracted driving on the increase. Additionally, alcohol misuse causes increased danger while in a car. Ralph Hingson, a Sc.D., states that of all alcoholic-related crashes in 2002, 4 percent caused death, and 42 percent caused injury. Hingson further asserts, in dissimilarity of the crashes that did not involve alcohol, 0.6 percent caused deaths, and 31 percent caused injury (Hingson). Deaths and injuries increased this much cannot be taken lightly. Furthermore, age is also a factor in why car crashes have increased in the last decade. Youth drivers are the primary users of cellphones, which means that they text...
Every person who has gets behind the wheel of a motor vehicle will be involved in some sort of automobile collision at some point in his or her lifetime. Traffic accidents account for over twenty thousand deaths each year and more than ten times as many injuries. There are a number of factors that contribute to these types of collisions, however, new and evolving laws can account for a large portion of successful preventable measures. In order for laws to be changed or added for the purpose of safer roads and highways, lawmakers have to first look at what factors contribute to such unsafe conditions. The top five causes of automobile accidents that cause injury are distracted drivers, driver fatigue, drunk driving, speeding, and aggressive driving. Laws can be proposed to reduce and even eliminate each of these risks.
Likewise, seat belts are the first line of defense for your children if child safety system is used appropriately. If seat belts are not used, when a car is met with accident then there is a higher risk that your child might be thrown out of the window or hit against th...
We have all heard the excuses before, “do I have to wear it? It isn’t like it’s going to protect me,” “it’s uncomfortable, I’m only going around the corner,” or “I’d rather be thrown out of the vehicle than to be stuck in a seat belt.” No matter how good of a driver you are, or you think you might be, there are always situations that are beyond your control. Such as, bad weather, drunk drivers, and road conditions. Sometimes, seat belts can be a life or death in an automobile accident. Not only is wearing your seat belt every time you get in a vehicle, but it is required by law in 49 states, with the exception of New Hampshire. Although seat belts are known to lock up and wrinkle your clothes, I believe that wearing your seat belt is beneficial because every fourteen seconds someone is injured in a traffic crash. Seat belts are not only known for holding you in place during a collision, but more importantly the are known to save the lives of the occupants in the vehicle.
Using seat belt when driving can help us to prevent death when an accident occurs.
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Car accidents are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 35. Wearing a seat belt can prevent death in about half of these accidents. Did you know that every 15 seconds someone is injured in an automobile accident if they are not buckled up, or that every 13 minutes someone is killed in a crash. Failure to wear a seat belt contributes to more fatalities than any other single traffic safety related behavior. According to the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration seatbelts saved nearly 12,000 lives in the United States in the year 2000. The NHTSA estimates that more than 9,000 U.S. car accident fatalities in 2000 would have been avoided if the victims had been wearing seatbelts. Sixty three percent of the people killed in accidents were not wearing seat belts. The NHTSA a...
When children are not in their booster seats they more likely to get hurt in an accident. For example, more than a third of children were killed because they were not in a booster seat. “ Fatalities occurring in larger vehicles: SUVs (55 percent), pick-ups (43 percent), vans (40 percent), and cars (24 percent).” This is showing that when children are not in their booster seats they are
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