Author: Saba, Ann H

Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety

[insert picture or logo here]

Young children, teens & adults

Month, Day, 2017

ISSUE BRIEF

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Facts about motor vehicle crashes

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In the United States...	In Iowa… [insert facts about your state]
More than 32,000 people are killed and two million are injured each year from motor vehicle crashes.	Between 2003 – 2012, over 3,160 motor vehicle occupants were killed.
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death during the first three decades of life.	The rate of motor vehicle occupant death in 2012 for all ages was higher than the national rate (8.7 per 100,000 in Iowa compared to 7 per 100,000 nationally).
The crash death rate was more than twice the average of other high-income countries in 2013.	Among motor vehicle occupant deaths in 2015, 45% were not adequately restrained.

Policies to promote motor vehicle occupant safety

Does Iowa have this?

Child restraint laws require approved restraint devices appropriate for child’s age, weight and height. Best practices: rear-facing child safety seats until age two; five-point harness until at least age four; and booster seats to at least age eight or until seat belt fits correctly.		*rear-facing until age 1 and 20 lbs; booster seat until age 5
Graduated Driver License programs give new teen drivers a provisional license to drive without supervision under low risk driving conditions. This license can restrict things like nighttime driving and driving with teen passengers.		*has both night and teen passenger restrictions
Distracted driving laws ban texting and using a hand-held phone while driving and have increased penalties, such as like higher fines or making violations a primary offense.		*bans texting while driving & primary offense
Primary seat belt laws allow police officers to stop and ticket someone for not using a seat belt, rather than only if the driver has been pulled over for another reason. Best practices include driver and all passengers, including back-seat ones.		* only covers drivers and front seat passengers
Drunk driving laws include ignition interlocks installed in cars of to measure alcohol on the driver’s breath who has been convicted of Operating While Intoxicated (OWI).

Examples of prevention

Educational & incentive-based programs that give prizes/coupons for correctly using car seats
Short-term, high visibility enforcement like checkpoints and saturation patrols
Car seat distribution & education programs that give access to car seats and teach proper use/installation
Mass media campaigns to spread messages about the dangers of impaired driving

Resources & Partners

This template was designed by the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center. Other partners: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Safe States Alliance; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; Safe Kids Worldwide

Guide for using the issue brief template. Do not print this page.

In the masthead:
Include title of brief and date.
Include your organization's logo or use a photo.

Example of sites where you can get free online photos:
www.flickr.com You must give photo credit and include license. Example: Photo by Anthony Auston http://bit.ly/2fSSbtZ/ CC BY
Example of site where you can purchase stock photos:
istock.com

Where you can get facts about motor vehicle crashes in your state:
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/states.html
https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/states-data-tables.html
https://wisqars.cdc.gov:8443/cdcMapFramework/
https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov//QueryTool/QuerySection/SelectYear.aspx

Where you can information about motor vehicle safety policies in your state:
The CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/motorvehiclesafety/seatbelts/states.html
The website of your state’s legislature. For example: (Iowa’s) https://www.legis.iowa.gov/
The website of your state department of transportation
Reports from you state’s College of Public Health
For information on ignition interlock laws: https://www.intoxalock.com/find-state-requirements

Other helpful resources:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA): https://www.nhtsa.gov/
Safe Kids Worldwide: https://www.safekids.org/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpJa-8ayC1gIVyUoNCh2jPwAaEAAYASAAEgIUy_D_BwE