Contact: Maridith Geuder
For Mississippi State researcher Ronald Cossman, buckling seat belts prior to driving is an important way to save children's lives. It is also common sense.
"This is a clear-cut issue," he said of seat-belt use in general and a new policy paper on the subject released by the Mississippi Health Policy Research Center, an affiliate of the university's long-standing Social Science Research Center.
With motor vehicle crashes now the leading cause of death for Mississippians age 1-34, the policy brief incorporates information compiled by Cossman to address what realistically can be done to prevent deaths and injuries among the state's children and young adults.
"One of the reasons this is so important is that if adults buckle up, it is more likely they'll buckle their children up," Cossman explained. "We know that children old enough to buckle themselves also will follow the adult's lead."
Cossman said Mississippi's current secondary seatbelt law allows a law enforcement officer to issue a ticket for non-use only if the vehicle has been stopped for an unrelated reason. A primary law would allow officers to stop and ticket drivers for not using restraints, he added.
Cossman said nearly 400 children and young adult state residents die annually in motor vehicle crashes. When medical, insurance, legal, and property damage costs are factored into the equation, crashes have a dramatic economic impact, as well.
"A study by the National Transportation Safety Administration put the total cost of motor vehicle crashes to just Mississippi residents and our economy at $2.1 billion," Cossman said.
While speed, alcohol use and irresponsible driving are among the many other factors contributing to motor vehicle accidents, Cossman has marshaled evidence to show how implementation of a primary seat belt law could have positive and immediate effects. His research also demonstrates how strongly Mississippians agree with that view. "Public opinion surveys show that 70 percent of Mississippi drivers support a primary enforcement seat belt law that would allow police to stop vehicles and write citations for observed seat belt violations," he said.
Ellen Jones, associate director of the Jackson-based Mississippi Health Policy Research Center, said the numbers should help catch the attention of policy-makers.
"Survival rates among seat belt users in an accident are higher than those for non-seat belt users," she said. "Enforcing seat belt use is one way to help save the lives of Mississippi children involved in potentially deadly motor vehicle accidents."
A complete copy of the policy brief may be read at http://www.healthpolicy.msstate.edu/.
NEWS EDITORS/DIRECTORS: For additional information or comments, contact Dr. Ronald Cossman at (662) 325-4801 or ronald.cossman@ssrc.msstate.edu.