Almost 6 out of 7 U.S. drivers surveyed report that they always wear a seat belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle, according to a study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Seat belt use has become the national norm in most states, though rates of self-reported seat belt use vary widely from state to state, with a high of 94 percent (Oregon) and a low of 59 percent (North Dakota).
Still, every 14 seconds, an adult in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries.
"A simple step that most drivers and passengers in the United States already take—buckling their seat belts—cuts in half the chance of being seriously injured or killed in a crash," said CDC Director Thomas R. Frieden, MD, MPH. "Yet, about 1 in 7 adults do not wear a seat belt on every trip. If everyone in the vehicle buckled up every time, we could further reduce one of the leading causes of death."
The study was in Vital Signs, a section of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
The study found that states with primary seat belt enforcement laws, where police officers can pull cars over and issue tickets solely because drivers and passengers are unbelted, have higher rates of seat belt use than states with secondary enforcement laws, which only allow officers to issue tickets to drivers who have been pulled over for violating another law. States with primary enforcement laws had an overall seat belt use rate of 88 percent, whereas states with secondary enforcement laws had an overall seat belt use rate of 79 percent. The national average for seat belt use is 85 percent.
If the secondary law states had achieved 88 percent belt use in 2008, it would have resulted in an additional 7.3 million adults buckling up.
Though 1 in 3 U.S. adults lived in states with secondary enforcement laws in 2008, residents of these states accounted for 49 percent of the unbelted drivers and passengers on U.S. roads. Nineteen states do not have primary enforcement seat belt laws.
"As seatbelt use increases and more states pass primary enforcement laws, we are seeing crash-related injuries decline," said Linda Degutis, Dr. PH, MSN, director of CDC's Injury Center. "This indicates that primary enforcement laws, paired with vigorous enforcement programs, get more people to wear seat belts. We know that buckling up can make a life-saving difference."
For the study, CDC researchers analyzed two national sources: 2009 National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program data on non-fatal injuries treated in emergency departments nationwide and 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data on self-reported risk behaviors.
To help increase seat belt use and protect more people on the road, CDC supports:
Primary enforcement seat belt laws that cover all drivers and passengers of appropriate age and size, regardless of whether they are sitting in the front or back seat of the vehicle.
According to previous research by CDC and others, everyone is encouraged to take the following steps:
Use a seat belt on every trip, no matter how short.
Encourage everyone in the car to buckle up, including those in the back seat.
Make sure children are properly buckled up in a seat belt, booster seat, or car seat, whichever is age- and size-appropriate.
Have all children ages 12 and under sit in the back seat.
CDC is also releasing "Policy Impact: Seat Belts," one in a series of briefs highlighting key public health issues, and important science-based policy actions that can be taken to address them. Through this new publication, CDC supports state-based efforts to strengthen seat belt policies and prevent crash-related injuries and deaths. (www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbeltbrief)
CDC's Injury Center works to protect the safety of everyone on the roads, every day. For more information about seat belts and motor vehicle safety, please visit www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety and www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns.
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Showing posts with label cdc. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cdc. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
CDC Study Finds Annual Cost of Motor Vehicle Crashes Exceeds $99 Billion
/PRNewswire/ -- In a one-year period, the cost of medical care and productivity losses associated with injuries from motor vehicle crashes exceeded $99 billion - with the cost of direct medical care accounting for $17 billion, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The total annual cost amounts to nearly $500 for each licensed driver in the United States, said the study in the journal Traffic Injury Prevention.
The one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists, the study said.
CDC researchers used 2005 data because, at the study time, it provided the most current source of national fatal and non-fatal injury and cost data from multiple sources.
"Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year. This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of crash-related injuries from a cost perspective, and the numbers are staggering," said Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The study also found:
-- Costs related to fatal motor vehicle-related injuries totaled $58
billion. The cost of non-fatal injuries resulting in hospitalization
amounted to $28 billion, and the cost of injuries to people treated in
emergency departments and released was $14 billion. More men were
killed (70 percent) and injured (52 percent) in motor vehicle crashes
than women. Injuries and deaths among men represented 74 percent ($74
billion) of all costs. Teens and young adults made up 28 percent of
all fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle injuries and 31 percent of the
costs ($31 billion). These young people represented only 14 percent of
the U.S. population.
-- Motorcyclists made up 6 percent of all fatalities and injuries but 12
percent of the costs, likely due to the severity of their injuries.
Pedestrians, who have no protection when they are hit by vehicles and
are also often severely injured, made up 5 percent of all injuries but
10 percent of total costs.
Motor vehicle crash injuries and deaths and the associated costs are preventable. CDC's Injury Center supports proven, effective strategies for prevention such as:
-- Graduated driver licensing (GDL) policies: these laws allow new teen
drivers to get experience on the road in lower-risk situations as they
gain experience over time and are proven to reduce teen crashes.
Strong GDL laws have been associated with up to 40 percent decreases
in crashes among 16-year-old drivers.
-- Child safety seat distribution and education programs: increased use
of correctly installed and fitted child safety seats could help reduce
the $3.6 billion annual bill for injuries to children, the cost number
found in this study.
-- Primary seat belt laws: these laws allow motorists to be stopped and
cited for not wearing seat belts. Seat belts reduce the risk of death
to those riding in the front seat by about half.
-- Enhanced seat belt enforcement programs: Enhanced enforcement programs
in which law enforcement officers focus on getting people to buckle up
(e.g.: Click It or Ticket), are effective at increasing safety belt
use and reducing deaths and injuries.
-- Motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws: helmets can reduce the risk of
death in a motorcycle crash by more than one-third and reduce the risk
of brain injury by 69 percent.
-- Sobriety checkpoints: these checkpoints, where drivers are stopped to
assess their level of alcohol impairment, can reduce alcohol-related
crash deaths by more than 20 percent.
-----
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The one-year costs of fatal and non-fatal crash-related injuries totaled $70 billion (71 percent of total costs) for people riding in motor vehicles, such as cars and light trucks, $12 billion for motorcyclists, $10 billion for pedestrians, and $5 billion for bicyclists, the study said.
CDC researchers used 2005 data because, at the study time, it provided the most current source of national fatal and non-fatal injury and cost data from multiple sources.
"Every 10 seconds, someone in the United States is treated in an emergency department for crash-related injuries, and nearly 40,000 people die from these injuries each year. This study highlights the magnitude of the problem of crash-related injuries from a cost perspective, and the numbers are staggering," said Dr. Grant Baldwin, director of CDC's Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The study also found:
-- Costs related to fatal motor vehicle-related injuries totaled $58
billion. The cost of non-fatal injuries resulting in hospitalization
amounted to $28 billion, and the cost of injuries to people treated in
emergency departments and released was $14 billion. More men were
killed (70 percent) and injured (52 percent) in motor vehicle crashes
than women. Injuries and deaths among men represented 74 percent ($74
billion) of all costs. Teens and young adults made up 28 percent of
all fatal and nonfatal motor vehicle injuries and 31 percent of the
costs ($31 billion). These young people represented only 14 percent of
the U.S. population.
-- Motorcyclists made up 6 percent of all fatalities and injuries but 12
percent of the costs, likely due to the severity of their injuries.
Pedestrians, who have no protection when they are hit by vehicles and
are also often severely injured, made up 5 percent of all injuries but
10 percent of total costs.
Motor vehicle crash injuries and deaths and the associated costs are preventable. CDC's Injury Center supports proven, effective strategies for prevention such as:
-- Graduated driver licensing (GDL) policies: these laws allow new teen
drivers to get experience on the road in lower-risk situations as they
gain experience over time and are proven to reduce teen crashes.
Strong GDL laws have been associated with up to 40 percent decreases
in crashes among 16-year-old drivers.
-- Child safety seat distribution and education programs: increased use
of correctly installed and fitted child safety seats could help reduce
the $3.6 billion annual bill for injuries to children, the cost number
found in this study.
-- Primary seat belt laws: these laws allow motorists to be stopped and
cited for not wearing seat belts. Seat belts reduce the risk of death
to those riding in the front seat by about half.
-- Enhanced seat belt enforcement programs: Enhanced enforcement programs
in which law enforcement officers focus on getting people to buckle up
(e.g.: Click It or Ticket), are effective at increasing safety belt
use and reducing deaths and injuries.
-- Motorcycle and bicycle helmet laws: helmets can reduce the risk of
death in a motorcycle crash by more than one-third and reduce the risk
of brain injury by 69 percent.
-- Sobriety checkpoints: these checkpoints, where drivers are stopped to
assess their level of alcohol impairment, can reduce alcohol-related
crash deaths by more than 20 percent.
-----
Community News You Can Use
www.fayettefrontpage.com
Fayette Front Page
www.georgiafrontpage.com
Georgia Front Page
Follow us on Twitter: @GAFrontPage
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