Evaluation of effectiveness of safety seatbelt legislation in the United Arab Emirates

Evaluation of effectiveness of safety seatbelt legislation in the United Arab Emirates

Seatbelt legalisation was implemented in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 1999. This provided the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the legislation in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate in the UAE by establishing levels of injury severity from motor vehicle crashes (MVC) b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Accident analysis and prevention Vol. 36; no. 3; pp. 399 - 404
Main Authors: El-Sadig, Mohammed, Sarfraz Alam, Mohammed, Carter, Anne O, Fares, Khalid, Al-Taneuiji, Hashel Obaid Salem, Romilly, Peter, Norman, J.Nelson, Lloyd, Owen
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-05-2004
Subjects:
Accidents, Traffic - legislation & jurisprudence
Accidents, Traffic - statistics & numerical data
Adult
Age Distribution
Automobile Driving
Behavior
Female
Humans
Injury severity
Injury Severity Score
Male
MVC injuries
Program Evaluation
Safety - legislation & jurisprudence
seat belts
Seat Belts - legislation & jurisprudence
Seatbelts
Traffic accidents
traffic safety
UAE
United Arab Emirates
Wounds and Injuries - pathology
Wounds and Injuries - prevention & control
United Arab Emirates
UAE
MVC injuries
Seatbelts
Traffic accidents
Injury severity
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Summary:Seatbelt legalisation was implemented in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January 1999. This provided the opportunity to evaluate the effectiveness of the legislation in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate in the UAE by establishing levels of injury severity from motor vehicle crashes (MVC) before and after the legislation and the rate of compliance with the legislation. Data were obtained from a major hospital in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE. Subjects were a systematic sample of MVC victims who arrived alive at hospital in either the pre-implementation period (January–June 1998) or the post-implementation period (February–August 2000). The main measures of outcome were injury severity codes, numbers of hospital bed days and rates of admission and discharge at hospital. The analysis of injury severity from MVCs, from the pre- to the post-implementation period, revealed a significant declining trend ( χ 2=77.68, P<0.001). While the proportion of minor injuries increased from 42% (95% CI: 36–48%) in the pre-implementation period to 77% (95% CI: 71–83%) in the post-implementation period, the proportion of ‘moderate to fatal injuries’ declined from 54% (95% CI: 48–60%) to 17% ( P=0.001) and the median number of hospital bed days declined from 5 days (25%=2; 75%=8) to 3 days (25%=1; 75%=4) ( P=0.028). The rate of seatbelt compliance reported by occupants involved in MVCs in the post-implementation period was 59% (95% CI: 52–67%). The implementation of the seatbelt legislation in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate was associated with statistically significant reduction in morbidity in those arriving alive at hospital following MVC, including reduced severity of injury, admission rate to hospital and the duration of hospital stay. More active implementation of seatbelt law would most likely further reduce severity of MVC injuries and fatalities in the Eastern District of Abu Dhabi Emirate, UAE.
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ISSN:0001-4575
1879-2057
DOI:10.1016/S0001-4575(03)00033-2