An Investigation of the Factors Associated with the Non-use of a Seat Belt through the Analysis of Linked Western Australian Crash, Death and Hospitalisation Data

INTRODUCTION Seat-belts are one of the most successful occupant protection countermeasures available to reduce the likelihood of death and non-fatal injury in the event of a crash. In Australia, the prevalence of seat-belt use by adult vehicle occupants is estimated to exceed 90%. Yet despite the effectiveness of seat belts and the comparatively high wearing rate in Australia, it is estimated that around 26% of occupants killed and 20% of those seriously injured are unbelted. Understanding the demographics and behavioural characteristics of those who fail to wear a seat-belt is central to the development of appropriate and effective countermeasures to increase seat belt use. To this end, one aim of the current research was to investigate the usefulness of linked crash, death and hospitalisation data to further understand the characteristics of adult vehicle occupants involved in a serious injury crash in Western Australia who fail to wear a seat-belt.