An investigation of the impact of child passenger restraint legislation and a public information and education program on child passenger safety in Tennessee

An investigation was made of the effect of child passenger protection legislation and a public information and education (PI&E) program on child passenger safety in Tennessee. . Legislation to provide protection for child passengers under the age of four was enacted in 1977 with an implementation date of January 1, 1978. Tennessee was the first state in the United States to pass a restraint law, providing a unique situation for field investigation of a PI&E program coupled with legislation.

The measures of effectiveness were child restraint usage rates and changes in fatalities and serious injuries. Data were collected at shopping centers in the five major Standard Metropolitan Statistical Areas (SMSA's) of Tennessee (Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Tri-Cities) and at three non-metropolitan areas (Morristown, Columbia, and Dyersburg). Data collections were performed prior to and approximately six months after the effective date of the law to determine the usage rates for each period. Accident data on children were obtained from the Tennessee Department of Safety for comparing fatalities and serious injuries for the two periods.

Two levels of PI&E programs were implemented on the effective date of the law. One level, the basic state plan, called for a low intensity PI&E program which was implemented statewide. It included the distribution of informational brochures and promotional posters to hospitals, children's clinics, physicians offices, and other strategic locations where parents with small children may go. The objective of the basic statewide plan was to increase child restraint usage and iv

provide a comparison base for the comprehensive plan. The other level of PI&E, the comprehensive plan, included utilizing TV, radio, newspapers, and billboards in combination with the lower intensity plan. Nashville was the only area to receive the comprehensive PI&E plan during the first six months after the effective date of the law.

Comparisons of usage rates were made between Nashville and the other urban areas for the period of operation after January 1, 1978. Usage rates were also determined and compared between the time before the law and the time after the law for each area where data collection was made. Fatalities and injuries for 1975 through the first six months of 1978 were studied for comparative purposes.

All the areas had significant increases in child restraint usage rates between the period before and the period after the law. Nashville had the greatest percentage point increase (from 14.0 to 22.1 percent). The non-metropolitan areas had an initial rate of 6.5 percent and increased to 12.5 percent after six months. Estimates of the statewide usage rates based on the sample and a weighted average using the proportion of the population in the urban and non-urban areas were 9.8 percent before and 16.l percent after the law and PI&E program. comparison of areas with two different levels of PI&E treatments revealed that the difference in the usage rates in Nashville for before and after the law was 8.1 percentage points and 6.0 percentage points for the other metropolitan areas.

This study also involved the examination of characteristics of parents of small children to help identify those non-users toward whom future programs may be directed. . A profile of a non-user was made using a set of variables which best distinguish non-users from users.

One major conclusion of the study was that usage rates of child restraint increased after implementation of a law and PI&E program in Tennessee. This conclusion is based on a six-month evaluation assuming no effect for seasonal variation.

It was concluded from the study that seat belt usage of drivers with small children was increased after six months of the law and PI&E program. It was also found that there was a significant relationship between seat belt usage and child restraint usage.

Another major conclusion from the research was that the comprehensive PI&E plan applied in the Nashville area was not significantly more effective than the basic state plan of PI&E which was applied in all other urban areas. There were factors which may have affected the results from which this conclusion was drawn. One factor was the inability to rigidly restrict the comprehensive plan to only the Nashville area. Another factor was the amount of information (not included in the study design) which some of the areas received during the six-months period.

The impact of the child passenger protection legislation and a PI&E program for the first six-month period on the reduction of fatalities and serious injuries to children under age four in Tennessee was only moderate. A longer period of time is needed to evaluate the complete effect.