The Seat Belt Use of Drivers and Car Occupants: An Observation Study in ？ile, Istanbul

Although the effectiveness of the seat belt use is widely documented in reducing injury risk and saving lives, the rate of seat belt usage in Turkey is not yet at a sufficient level. The main purpose of present study is to observe whether the use of the seat belt in ？ile district of Istanbul varies according to the position in the vehicle, gender, and different regions. The study was carried out with equal numbers of observations of vehicles (N = 400) from different regions (inside the campus, campus entrance, ？ile urban road (highway), ？ile rural road). In order to analyze the factors which, affect seat belt use, (i.e. position in the vehicle, gender, and different regions) chi-square analyses were conducted. The results showed that the use of seat belt significantly differed according to the position in the vehicle, gender, and different regions. Accordingly, seat belt use is significantly higher in urban roads (as compared to rural roads), drivers (as compared to passengers), females (as compared to males), and automobile drivers (as compared to passengers and other vehicle types). The practical implications of seat belt use, the strengths and limitations of the present study were discussed in the light of the literature