Public Health & Vehicle Occupant Protection, Coursework Example

What positive lessons for public health prevention can we learn from the development of health policy relating to motor vehicle occupant protection?

In Waller’s (2001) article “Public Health’s Contribution  to Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention,” the author notes that drastic changes to public health policy specifically in regards to vehicle occupant protection acts over the past four decades has dramatically reduced vehicle fatalities, even those associated with drinking and driving. Waller (2001) notes that in previous years, prior to more conscious regulations,  “though the law provided for fairly harsh penalties, they were rarely applied. Upon arraignment, defendants would ask for a jury trial, and because drinking and driving was so widespread, juries almost invariably acquitted the defendant” (Waller, 2001, p1). The author goes on to note that today the laws are much different as occupant restraint laws have played a major role in reducing motor vehicle deaths and injuries, as research findings promoted by citizen action groups translated into effective policy. Waller (2001) attributes vehicle occupant protection policies as one of the main initiatives responsible reduced motor vehicle fatality rate. She argues that if the same fatality rates of 1966 were still being experienced today the 46,000 fatalities reported in 1999 would have been 146,000 or more.

Litman (2013)  reaffirms Waller’s data but counters the author’s argument. Litman (2013) does note that US crash rates declined nearly 80% between 1965 and 2010,  implying that safety programs and occupant crash protection policies were successful; but Litman (2013) further points out that if the data is measured per capita the way most health risks are assessed over time, it reveals initiatives like improved vehicles, safer roads, occupation crash protection, improved emergency response and drunk driving reductions should have resulted in a substantially larger fatality reduction. The example Litman (2013) uses to support this argument is to point out that increased restraint use, in the form of seat-belts, statistically reduces crash fatality rates by 45%, but despite the fact between 1960 to 2002 seat-belt use increased from 0% to 75%, which should have resulted in a 33% decline in fatalities, there was only a 25% decline. This is substantially different from Waller’s perspective.

The positive lesson for health prevention that can be learned from this si that there is still a significant amount of room for improved distribution of safety information. It’s clear the actual implementation of policy is not as a effective as initiatives to inform the public about the health risks associated with vehicle use by action groups.

References

Litman, T. (2013). Transportation and Public Health. Annu. Rev. Public Health, 34, 22-1.

Waller, P. F. (2001). Public Health’s Contribution to Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention.