Teenage drivers involved in serious accidents are five times more likely to die in Rhode Island than in California because of a wide disparity in seat belt use, the New York Times reported, citing a new study of fatal crashes across the U.S.
The study, which looked at drivers 16 to 19 years old in fatal crashes from 1995 to 2000, found that in California, 65 percent were wearing seat belts. In Rhode Island only 5 percent were, the paper said.
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Using seat belts cut the risk of death by about half, though in 12 states fewer than a quarter of the teenagers who died were wearing them, the Times said. Seat belt laws in California and Rhode Island are different, according to Chuck Hurley, executive director of the Air Bag & Seat Belt Safety Campaign, a partnership of private companies and public agencies.
An important factor in the use of seat belts among teenagers was whether their states had laws that allow police to stop the cars of unbelted drivers and issue tickets, the newspaper said.
Bloomberg News
