Seat Belts: Over-Hyped

Not that anyone is surprised that the Gummint over-hypes things...


Our estimates of the potential savings in lives from increased seat belt usage are less than half of the estimate used by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The significant difference between these estimates results from the fact that the NHTSA uses 45% as the estimated elasticity of seat belt usage. This value is based on the actual usage as estimated from that of drivers involved in traffic fatalities. This estimate differs from the one calculated
in observational studies and used for the calculation of the national usage rate. Thus, our estimates provide a better guide for policymaking in this area than the estimates
currently used by policymakers.

At the same time, the study proves beyond a doubt that "seat belts save lives."

HT: Schneier