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World Health Day
2004

PAHO, AAA Address Low Seat Belt Use Rates among Hispanics

Washington, DC, March 31, 2004 (PAHO)—Motor vehicle crashes are not only the leading cause of death for Latino males in the U.S., but they are also a huge problem throughout the Americas, where 130,000 people die each year, Pan American Health Organization Deputy Director Dr. Joxel Garcia said today.

"We know that wearing seat belts can reduce the risk of death and injury in a collision by as much as 60 percent, and child safety seats reduce risk of death by 71 percent for infants and by 54 percent for kids aged 1-4," García said.

Rates of seat belt use are lower among Hispanics in the U.S. than other groups, but in Latin America, many people don't even have cars with seat belts, and when they immigrate to the U.S. they don't have the habit of wearing belts, García said.

Speaking at an American Automobile Association event at the National Press Club, García said that PAHO is working with AAA, government agencies and other traffic safety groups to reduce deaths and injuries from crashes.

The new AAA study released today revealed a lack of consistent seat belt use by Mexican immigrants despite a strong belief in the importance of seat belts, and found a strong relationship between the percentage of a person's lifetime spent in the United States and seat belt use. According to the research, this plays an even bigger role in seat belt use than level of education. The study also found that primary seat belt laws, which allow police to stop motorists for not wearing seat belts, encourage the use of seat belts by immigrants.

García said that increased use of seat belts, together with strategies to reduce speeding and drunk driving can have a huge impact in cutting the toll of injury and death from traffic crashes. He noted that AAA will join officials of the U.S. Departments of Transportation, Health and Human Services, and other agencies at PAHO on April 7, World Health Day, which is dedicated to road traffic safety.

"We need to work with many partners to raise the awareness of the health impact and social and economic costs of road traffic injuries and to find better ways to prevent deaths from traffic crashes," García said.

PAHO was established in 1902 and is the world's oldest public health organization. PAHO works with all the countries of the Americas to improve the health and the quality of life of its people. It serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO).