[Effects of seat belt legislation on injuries of traffic accidents]

This paper reports a comparison of road injuries and fatalities in the twelve months before and after the mandatory enforcement of seat belt buckling (Law no. 143/89) in to area of Verona. In the post-legem period among hospital admitted subjects a significant reduction of injured/accidents ratio was recorded (reduction of 5.3 percent points C.I. 95%: 3.09-7.5 corresponding to a decrease of 29%: p < 0.001) in the same period the number of decreased was lower 12 vs. 19) but the deceased/accidents and the deceased injured ratios were not significantly different. The comparison of distribution of lesions into different body areas showed a sharp decrease of common head trauma (reduction of 14.7 percent point, C.I. 95% 8.20-21.22 corresponding to a decrease of 50.3%: p < 0.001) with a parallel but not significant reduction of subjects with short hospitalization (< or = 3 days. No differences were found for severe trauma frequencies and for overall hospitalization length.