AAA Study On Seat Belt Use Among Latino Population.

With motor vehicle crashes being the leading cause of death for Latinos age 1 – 44, AAA will release results from a first-of-its-kind research project using bilingual and bicultural in-depth focus group interviews on seat belt use among Mexican-born U.S. immigrants. Latinos are the fastest growing group of Americans, with Mexican immigrants representing two-thirds of all Latinos in the United States.

Where previous studies merely quantify lower seat belt use among Latinos, this study goes in-depth to answer the questions: What are the greatest motivators to get this hard to reach population to buckle up? For those motorists who say they buckle up, is there consistent use of seat belts? What is the best way to effectively deliver traffic safety messages to this population?

AAA will launch its legislative and education outreach effort leading up to the upcoming April 7 World Health Day commemoration. The World Health Organization has identified the problem of motor vehicle crashes as a significant public health issue for the first time in its history.