Citation

Kostyniuk LP, Eby DW, Molnar LJ, Miller LL. Transp. Res. Rec. 2004; 1865: 14-19.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences USA, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

A study investigated the effects on safety belt citations of the change in police enforcement of Michigan's mandatory safety belt law that went into effect on March 10, 2000. Safety belt citation records were obtained from Michigan courts for one full year before and one full year after the change from secondary to standard enforcement. Analysis of the records indicated an overall increase of 9% in safety belt citations and an 8% increase in the number of individuals cited. No effects from the change to standard enforcement were found for the distribution of safety belt citations by sex, age, and race, overall, or for both day- and nighttime periods. The proportion of persons receiving multiple safety belt citations in one year remained at 11%, and the average number of citations per cited person remained at 1.1 per year. Individuals who continued to receive citations after standard enforcement were more likely to be males age 16 to 22. No effect on the number of child-restraint citations was found. Changes in the disposition of cases included an increase in the proportion of guilty outcomes and a decrease in the proportion of cases dismissed.