Safety Device Coding and Enacted Laws in Police Accident Report Forms

Objective: Using the police accident report forms from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, the safety device items currently collected by these forms were compared against the laws of these states.

Methods: We examined the police accident report forms to determine the presence and coding scheme for the following safety variables: airbags, seat belts, car seats, booster seats, motorcycle helmets, and bike helmets; as well as legislative variables: seat belt enforcement status (primary, secondary), motorcycle helmet law, bicycle helmet law, and booster seat law.

Results: The most serious gaps in the variables being collected involve child safety and bicycle helmets. Seventy-six percent of states had a booster seat law, but only 20% coded for booster seats. Forty-one percent of states had a bicycle helmet law, but only 22% coded specifically for bicycle helmets.

Conclusion: The study describes major deficiencies in safety device items included on state-based police accident reports forms. The impact of this data gap is a diminished ability to access the impact of traffic safety legislation and use patterns during a motor vehicle crash.