Where Children Sit in Cars: The Impact of Rhode Island’s New Legislation

Abstract

.

Objectives. This study evaluated the impact of Rhode Island’s legislation requiring children younger than 6 years to sit in the rear of motor vehicles. Methods. Roadside observations were conducted in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in 1997 and 1998. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate the proportion of vehicles carrying a child in the front seat. Results. Data were collected on 3226 vehicles carrying at least 1 child. In 1998, Rhode Island vehicles were less likely to have a child in the front seat than in 1997 (odds ratio=0.6; 95% confidence interval=0.5, 0.7), whereas no significant changes in child passenger seating behavior occurred in Massachusetts during that period. Conclusions. Rhode Island’s legislation seems to have promoted safer child passenger seating behavior.