Gunn Veronica L, Phillippi Rhonda M, Cooper William O
Department of Pediatrics, Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, AA-0216 MCN, 1215 21st Ave South, Nashville, TN 37232-2504, USA.
Pediatrics. 2007 Jan;119(1):e131-6. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-1876.
Tennessee enacted an enhanced child safety restraint law in July 2004, which included new requirements for booster seat use among 4- to 8-year-old children. The goal of this study was to evaluate the appropriate use of child safety restraints and knowledge of the enhanced law before and after its implementation.
On-site child safety restraint assessments and brief driver interviews for cars with passengers 0 to 8 years of age were conducted at 34 sites in 3 urban counties in Tennessee. Assessments were conducted 2 to 3 months before implementation of the law and 1 year after implementation of the law. Appropriateness of restraint use was defined on the basis of language in the enhanced law.
Data were obtained for 1247 child passengers transported by 1191 drivers; 333 of the children were 0 to 3 years of age, and 914 were 4 to 8 years of age (the primary age group targeted by the enhanced law). Significant improvement in appropriate booster seat use was seen for 4- to 8-year-old passengers after implementation (39%), compared with use before implementation (29%). There was no improvement in the rate of appropriate restraint use for younger children (<4 years of age) after implementation. Black passengers 4 to 8 years of age were twice as likely as white child passengers to be unrestrained, before and after implementation. Seventy-nine percent of drivers reported awareness of the new restraint law after implementation; the majority of drivers obtained information from television advertisements.
Improvements in booster seat use were seen after adoption of an enhanced state law requiring use; however, racial differences in restraint use persisted among 4- to 8-year-old passengers. Additional study of barriers to booster seat use among drivers of black child passengers and unrestrained children is warranted.
田纳西州于2004年7月颁布了一项强化儿童安全约束法，其中包括对4至8岁儿童使用增高座椅的新要求。本研究的目的是评估强化法实施前后儿童安全约束装置的正确使用情况以及对该强化法的了解程度。
在田纳西州3个城市县的34个地点，对搭载0至8岁乘客的汽车进行现场儿童安全约束装置评估，并对司机进行简短访谈。评估在法律实施前2至3个月和法律实施后1年进行。约束装置使用的适当性根据强化法中的规定来界定。
获取了1191名司机运送1247名儿童乘客的数据；其中333名儿童年龄在0至3岁，914名儿童年龄在4至8岁（强化法的主要目标年龄组）。与实施前（29%）相比，实施后4至8岁乘客正确使用增高座椅的情况有显著改善（39%）。实施后，年幼儿童（<4岁）正确使用约束装置的比例没有提高。实施前后，4至8岁的黑人乘客未受约束的可能性是白人儿童乘客的两倍。79%的司机在实施后表示知晓新的约束法；大多数司机是从电视广告中获取信息的。
在通过一项要求使用增高座椅的强化州法律后，增高座椅的使用情况有所改善；然而，4至8岁乘客在约束装置使用方面的种族差异仍然存在。有必要对黑人儿童乘客和未受约束儿童的司机在使用增高座椅方面的障碍进行进一步研究。
