The epidemiology of injuries in the society, both occupational and not, are conditioned by way of life of the citizens. That is why the lifestyle approach is suggested to analyze the epidemiology (Krieger, 2011). The lifestyle means the choice of behavior strategies by a person. In the context of health issues, it is possible to speak about the health behaviors and exposure to risk factors. Vehicle crashes with fatal outcomes are among the spread reasons of juvenile mortality in the US. It is partially due to the seat belt legislation and the responsibility of teenagers during driving. The following research investigates the problem of car seat belt legislation and the connected epidemiology of injuries.
Epidemiology of Car-Connected Injuries Among Teenagers
The US are known for the early driving permit. It depends on the state, but in general, the adolescents aged 14 can drive. The percentage of young drivers aged 15-20 is 6% which amounts to 12.6 million (Governors Highway Safety Organization, 2014). Hence, they may be involved in car accidents with injuries. The majority of teenage drivers in fatal crashes did not wear a seat belt (51.2%) (Governors Highway Safety Organization, 2014). Thus the core problem is to convince teenagers to use a seatbelt to save their lives. The car crashes, apart from the fatal outcome, may result in various injuries. The most dangerous of them are brain and head injuries, injuries affecting the neck, spinal cord, and back. These usually influence the ability to move and the quality of life in general. Besides, facial, internal, and psychological traumas are common for car crashes.
The Methods of Data Collection
The study under discussion is a complex one. It is based on the longitudinal research together with the statistical analysis and literature review.
Strength and Limitation of the Applied Method
The strength of the methods used is that they provide the broad coverage of the different aspects of the problem. The limitation is that they all are time-consuming, especially when applied in complex.
Recommendations on Reducing Car Injuries
Since the primary cause of fatal results of car crashes among teenagers is the violation of seat belt laws, the way to reduce car injuries is to tighten the legislation. In Maryland, “Under current law, not wearing a seat belt while riding or driving a vehicle is a secondary violation” (Mergenmeier, 2017). The penalty for the first offense if only 50 dollars (Governors Highway Safety Organization, 2014). Thus, the laws should be restricted. Another way to improve the situation is to organize the prevention work among the teenagers.
The Statistics of Car Injuries
There were 283 183 motor vehicle fatal cases involving participants older than 10 in the period from 2001 to 2010 which is 13 per 100 000 people (Lee, Monuteaux, Burghardt, Fleegler, Nigrovic, Meehan, et al., 2015). Another aspect of car injuries is the use of booster seats. The statistics say that it increased from 24% to 43% (Brixey, Corden, Guse, & Layde, 2011). The fatal cases among young drivers in 2012 due to the unrestrained driving were 51.2% compared to 47.3% of all the cases.
References
Brixey, S. N., Corden, T. E., Guse, C. E., & Layde, P. M. (2011). Booster seat legislation: Does it work for all children? Injury Prevention, 17, 233–237.
Governors Highway Safety Organization. (2014). Getting it to click! Connecting teens and seat belt use. Web.
Krieger, N. (2011). Epidemiology and the people’s health: Theory and context. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Lee L.K., Monuteaux M.C., Burghardt L.C., Fleegler E.W., Nigrovic L.E., Meehan W.P., et al. (2015). Motor vehicle crash fatalities in states with primary versus secondary seat belt laws: A time-series analysis. Annals of Internal Medicine, 163, 184-190. Web.
Mergenmeier, A. (2017). Lax seat belt law hurts Maryland highway safety rating, advocates say. Capital News Service. Web.