Citation

Hall WL, Stewart JR. Proc. Assoc. Adv. Automot. Med. Annu. Conf. 1991; 35: 11-25.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

North Carolina's Child Passenger Safety Law, covering children under age 2, went into effect July 1, 1982. This law was expanded to cover children under age 6 as of July 1, 1985 and NC's Seat Belt Law went into effect October 1, 1985. Data contained in the North Carolina traffic accident files were analyzed to determine the effects of this restraint legislation on fatalities and injuries to children under the age of sixteen. Crash and observational data have shown significant increases in restraint use by children. Injury data indicates that there has been a 21% reduction in the fatal plus serious injury rate for children less than age six between 1982 and 1990. Children ages 6-15, covered only by the seat belt law since 1985, have experienced a 5% reduction in their fatal plus serious injury rate during this time.