The effect of seatbelt legislation on hospital admissions with road traffic injuries in an oil-rich, fast-developing country.

The objective of the study was to examine the effect of seat-belt legislation on hospital admissions with road traffic injuries and was designed as a retrospective descriptive study. All motor vehicle crashes recorded during the period 2001 - 2004 were extracted from the Emergency Medical Service Department. Details of the crashes, injuries and safety devices used were studied. The present study revealed that safety belt usage rates have increased from 8% in 2001 to 67% in 2004 among patients admitted to hospital with injury after road traffic crashes. The admission rate of patients with road traffic injuries per 100 000 population reduced by 17.7%. The enforcement of the seat-belt legislation played a vital role in reduction of hospital admissions due to road traffic crashes.