Evaluation of a brief intervention for increasing seat belt use on a college campus

The authors evaluated a brief intervention for increasing seat belt use among the front seat occupants of cars at a junior college, in a jurisdiction with a mandatory belt use law. The intervention included public posting of performance feedback and distribution of an informational flyer to cars in target parking lot. Feedback was the display of the proportion of drivers observed wearing seat belts on the previous observation day. Seat belt use among drivers increased from 64% during the baseline phase to 71% during the intervention phase. Seat belt use among front passengers increased from 49% during the baseline phase to 67% during the intervention phase. In both cases, seat belt use at follow-up was comparable to seat belt use during the intervention phase, although a trend toward decreasing belt use was noted. Also found was higher seat belt use among females as compared with males irrespective of their front seat occupant status (driver or passenger). Effects of the intervention are discussed in the context of increasing seat belt use in a hardcore nonuser population of predominantly young adults.