Casualty risk reduction from safety seat belts in a desert country

A prospective study was carried out between December 1991 and October 1992 to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of hospitalized drivers regarding seat belt usage in United Arab Emirates (UAE). During this period, a total of 800 vehicle drivers were seen and treated in the Accident and Emergency Departments of two general hospitals. A total of 706 (88%) drivers gave consent for the study. The study showed that the rate of constant seat belt usage among drivers was 10.5%, and the rate of frequent seat belt usage was 5.8%. There was a statistically significant difference between seat belting and age groups (p = 0.0051). However, there were no significant statistical differences between seat belt usage versus non usage by sex, nationality and marital status. There were statistically significant differences between user and non-users of seat belts concerning their educational level and occupation. The results showed a reduction in the number of injuries due to usage of seat belts. Those patients who were not wearing seat belts were at risk twice as often as drivers who were restrained by belts. There was a statistically significant difference between the number of persons injured wearing and not wearing seat belts, (p = 0.032). It was observed that the majority of patients stated that seat belts are the best protective measure against all injuries (62.1%) and severe injuries (29.1%) of road traffic accidents. Also, there was strong support for the mandatory use of safety seat belts (56%). We may conclude that these data are encouraging, and would suggest general acceptance of seat belt legislation in the United Arab Emirates.