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U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Praises Meharry Medical College, GM For Report On Seat Belt Use


American Government Topics:  Rodney E. Slater, General Motors

U.S. Transportation Secretary Slater Praises Meharry Medical College, GM For Report On Seat Belt Use

NHTSA
July 20, 1999

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NHTSA 32-99
Tuesday, July 20, 1999
Contact: NHTSA, Cathy Hickey, (202) 366-9550

Study Confirms Lower Seat Belt Use Among African Americans

U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater today praised Meharry Medical College of Nashville, Tenn., and General Motors Corp. for engaging in a public-private partnership and for conducting a study on seat belt use among African Americans. It confirms that seat belt use among African Americans is lower than the national average and that African Americans are more likely to be killed in motor vehicle crashes than whites. The study recommends that public awareness be raised and that primary seat belt laws be encouraged and enforced.

"I am delighted that Meharry Medical College and General Motors undertook this study to improve safety, which is President Clinton's highest transportation priority," said Secretary Slater. "Repeatedly we see that the violence of crashes is color blind. All of us, our children and families, are affected by car crashes."

According to the study, African American youth are 50 percent less likely to be buckled than whites or Hispanics. It also observed that 100 percent seat belt use by African Americans could save as many as 1,300 lives per year and prevent 26,000 injuries at a cost savings of nearly $2.6 billion.

The study was sponsored by a grant from General Motors to Meharry Medical College and presented to Secretary Slater for use in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) efforts to help America meet President Clinton's goal of 90 percent seat belt use by 2005.

"We know that increasing seat belt use will save thousands of young lives each and every year," said U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher. "The more we know about the particular needs of diverse populations, the more we are able to develop sound prevention strategies to produce healthy communities for Americans."

"By identifying lower seat belt use among African Americans as an important public safety issue and recommending ways to increase seat belt use, the study will help us reach out to all Americans, especially to urban populations, to improve highway safety," said NHTSA Administrator Ricardo Martinez, M.D.

The authors state that the report attempts to build a compelling, evidence-based case for a comprehensive national education effort to accompany the passage and application of needed primary seat belt laws.

The Meharry Report observes that efforts to enact primary laws have been thwarted by concerns of African Americans about differential law enforcement based on race, referred to in the study as "Driving While Black" or "DWB."

"The issue of differential treatment is a genuine concern that must not be overlooked," said Dr. John Maupin, president of Meharry Medical College. "But the fact remains that low belt use among African Americans is a public health issue of enormous impact that must be addressed now. While the report does call for collection of data on differential traffic enforcement, it concludes that it is more important to immediately begin passing and enforcing tougher seat belt laws to save the lives of African Americans, children, and all Americans now."

The report includes 12 initial recommendations toward achieving a credible health and safety approach to increasing seat belt use among African Americans. Among them are the following:

  • Engage health, medical, and public safety organizations to raise the public consciousness regarding the importance of using seat belts and the proper use of child safety seats.
  • Enact primary mandatory seat belt laws coupled with zero tolerance for both lack of seat belt use and differential enforcement of any type, with particular emphasis for rogue law enforcement activities which are based on race.
  • Conduct a series of studies where African Americans, as part of urban and rural populations, are the specific focus rather than ancillary participants.
  • Research and implement a program of community-based seat belt checkpoints, including the use of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their students as part of teams conducting the checkpoints and a variety of ordinary citizens as observers.
  • Enlist the help of law enforcement and mass media in providing models of seat belt use for children and young adults.

    According to department figures, 16 states and the District of Columbia have primary enforcement laws which allow law enforcement officers to stop motorists for not wearing seat belts. Many other states have secondary enforcement laws, which permit officers to cite motorists for failing to buckle up only if the motorist is stopped for another violation, such as speeding.

    Statewide surveys show that states with primary enforcement laws have seat belt rates up to 15 percentage points higher than states with secondary enforcement seat belt laws. States with secondary enforcement average 63 percent belt use while states with primary enforcement laws average 78 percent. The Meharry Report states that, for black males age 18-29, these percentages for seat belt use are lower-46 percent in states with secondary laws and 58 percent in states with primary laws.

    More about "Achieving a Credible Health and Safety Approach to Increasing Seat Belt Use Among African Americans," is on Meharry Medical College's web site: www.mmc.edu/seatbelt_safety.

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