SEAT BELT USE AND ALCOHOL-IMPAIRED DRIVING: BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDES IN AUSTRALIA, CANADA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND THE UNITED STATES

The highway safety problem has similar dimensions in all motorized societies. Two factors that have contributed strongly to motor injuries worldwide are alcohol-impaired driving and failure to use seat belts. While all countries have made substantial efforts to decrease alcohol-impaired driving and increase belt use rates, they have taken somewhat different paths in addressing these common problems, and some have done better than others. Countries such as Australia have achieved remarkable gains in both areas, while other countries have lagged. The United States is a laggard particularly in the belt use area. It may be possible for less successful countries to learn from others how to make greater progress toward their goals. To investigate this possibility, a telephone survey of drivers in four countries was undertaken. This survey obtained information on drivers? self-reported behavior regarding seat belt use and drinking and driving as well as their attitudes and perceptions about these behaviors and the laws governing them.

There are two separate existing publications that present and discuss the survey results [1,2]. This paper summarizes and comments further on information in the prior reports.