Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Blacks are less likely to buckle up than whites, and the largest auto insurance company and a black medical school are teaming up to figure out why.
State Farm Insurance announced Friday that it will give Meharry Medical College $10 million over five years to study attitudes about seat belts and child safety seats among blacks and create a plan to increase use.
Meharry President John Maupin said it is unclear why blacks don’t buckle up as often as whites.
"We know the statistics," he said. "It is now time to come together and find the real reasons behind and the solutions to the crisis."
Sixty-nine percent of blacks wore seat belts in 2000, compared with 74 percent of whites, according to the latest figures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The usage rate also was 69 percent among other minorities, but the study will focus only on blacks.
At least 125 lives would be saved and 2,500 injuries prevented each year if blacks buckled up 74 percent of the time, according to figures provided by Meharry, a historically black medical school in Nashville, Tenn.
Although seat belt use among blacks remains low, it increased 18 percentage points from 1996 to 2000, according to NHTSA figures.
Auto safety advocates say seat belt use would increase among all motorists if more states pass standard enforcement laws that allow police to stop motorists who are not restrained. Most states only allow police to ticket motorists for seat belt violations if they are pulled over for breaking another law.
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