Biomaterial Database

The effects of seat belt legislation on road traffic injuries. 1977

G W Trinca, and B J Dooley

The compulsory wearing of seat belts, first introduced in the world in Victoria in 1970, has effectively reduced the number of deaths and injuries by approximately one-third for car occupants involved in motor vehicle crashes. Initially, the legislation did not apply to children under the age of eight years, but in 1975 a further law was introduced banning children from the front seat of any vehicle unless properly harnessed. Seat belts offer the best protection for front seat drivers and passengers involved in frontal impacts, but offer less protection to the recipient of a side impact. Ten per cent of car occupants admitted to hospital after a frontal impact show injuries, mostly minor, directly attibutable to the wearing of seat belts.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007878	Legislation as Topic	Works about the enactment of laws and ordinances and their regulation by official organs of a nation, state, or other legislative organization. It refers also to health-related laws and regulations in general or for which there is no specific descriptor.	Health Legislation,Constitutional Amendments,Health Legislation as Topic,Laws and Statutes,Legislation, Health,Model Legislation,Population Law,Statutes and Laws,Amendment, Constitutional,Amendments, Constitutional,Constitutional Amendment,Law, Population,Laws, Population,Legislation, Model,Population Laws
D008824	Michigan	State bounded on the north by the Great Lakes, on the east by Canada, on the south by Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio, and on the west by Lake Michigan and Wisconsin.
D009520	New Zealand	A group of islands in the southwest Pacific. Its capital is Wellington. It was discovered by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman in 1642 and circumnavigated by Cook in 1769. Colonized in 1840 by the New Zealand Company, it became a British crown colony in 1840 until 1907 when colonial status was terminated. New Zealand is a partly anglicized form of the original Dutch name Nieuw Zeeland, new sea land, possibly with reference to the Dutch province of Zeeland. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p842 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p378)
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D005131	Eye Injuries	Damage or trauma inflicted to the eye by external means. The concept includes both surface injuries and intraocular injuries.	Injuries, Eye,Eye Injury,Injury, Eye
D005602	France	A country in western Europe bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the Mediterranean Sea, and the countries of Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the principalities of Andorra and Monaco, and by the duchy of Luxembourg. Its capital is Paris.	Corsica,Saint Pierre and Miquelon,Miquelon and Saint Pierre,Miquelon and St. Pierre,St. Pierre and Miquelon
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000063	Accidents, Traffic	Accidents on streets, roads, and highways involving drivers, passengers, pedestrians, or vehicles. Traffic accidents refer to AUTOMOBILES (passenger cars, buses, and trucks), BICYCLING, and MOTORCYCLES but not OFF-ROAD MOTOR VEHICLES; RAILROADS nor snowmobiles.	Traffic Collisions,Traffic Crashes,Traffic Accidents,Accident, Traffic,Collision, Traffic,Collisions, Traffic,Crashes, Traffic,Traffic Accident,Traffic Collision
D000328	Adult	A person having attained full growth or maturity. Adults are of 19 through 44 years of age. For a person between 19 and 24 years of age, YOUNG ADULT is available.	Adults
D001315	Australia	The smallest continent and an independent country, comprising six states and two territories. Its capital is Canberra.	Canton and Enderbury Islands,Christmas Island,Christmas Island (Australia)