BMJ  2006;333:199 (22 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7560.199-b

Letter

Death on the roads

Is unsafe behaviour due to the choice or the chooser?

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

EDITOR—With reference to the article by Walker et al,¹ in the United States, pick-up truck drivers use seat belts less often and have the highest fatality rates.² The National Highway Safety Administration asked male drivers of pick-up trucks whether they wore seat belts.

The men reported that they felt protected by size of vehicle, nature of vehicle use (short, work related trips), being "trapped" after the crash, and anger or resentment over mandatory seat belt laws. They were, however, more likely to wear their safety belts when family or friends were with them, on interstate highways, in large cities, and in bad weather.

Sacramento, CA 95818, USA jacobsenp@medscape.com

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Competing interests: None declared.

1. Walker L, Williams J, Jamrozik K. Unsafe driving behaviour and four wheel drive vehicles: observational study. BMJ 2006;333: 71-3. (8 July.)[Abstract/Free Full Text]
2. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Rural pickup truck drivers and safety belt use: focus group report. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/airbags/RuralPickUpTruckupdate/ExecutiveSummary.htm (accessed 13 Jul 2006).

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Unsafe driving behaviour and four wheel drive vehicles: observational study

Lesley Walker, Jonathan Williams, and Konrad Jamrozik
BMJ 2006 333: 71. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]