Seat belts unfastened: Non-seat belt use in the Czech Republic

Abstract

More than 56 thousand drivers lost their licenses due to traffic offences in the Czech Republic between the years of 2006 and 2013. In almost half of the cases the ban from driving associated with the non-compliance to the mandatory use of seat belts. At the same time, non-seat belt use annually leads to hundreds of drivers and passengers killed in traffic accidents in the Czech Republic. Thus, non-seat belt use represents one of the most frequent and severe traffic offences. However, we do not know how widespread is the non-seat belt usage in the population. Therefore, in this study, we explore the latent form of the non-seat belt use in the Czech Republic as well as related socio-demographic or behavioral factors. The quota sample consisted of 1079 drivers (18-89 years, 44% women). Almost one-third of the drivers admitted driving without fastened seatbelts during the last year. Women and more educated respondents had lower probability of driving without a seat belt than their male and less educated counterparts. At the same time, drink-driving, speeding, and perceived inadequacy of the non-seat belt use sanction led to the higher probability of non-seat belt use.