Citation

Crump CE, Brinkerhoff R, Young D. Proc. Hum. Factors Ergon. Soc. Annu. Meet. 2017; 61(1): 1674-1678.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1541931213601907

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently published a final rule requiring lap/shoulder seat belts in all new large motorcoaches and buses manufactured on or after November 28, 2016 (NHTSA, 2013). Studies of vehicle belt use in passenger vehicles demonstrate that many factors other than availability influence whether a seat belt is used by an individual in a particular circumstance. The present observational study examined passenger seat belt use in airport shuttle buses traveling short distances over urban roads with frequent stops, in four U.S. cities. Seat belts were used very rarely when provided - only 1% (2 out of 156) of passengers buckled up. These findings are consistent with other studies of passenger seat belt use in motorcoach buses, and suggest that without concomitant legislation mandating and enforcing seat belt usage, the vast majority of bus passengers are unlikely to use seat belts even when provided.

Language: en