[Traffic law compliance in the city of Santa Fe, Argentina].

An observational, descriptive study was conducted to evaluate compliance with certain traffic regulations in city of Santa Fe, Argentina, and compare these with measurements taken in prior years. During January 2-4, 2006, at 13 sites across the city, compliance with the following traffic rules was measured: for car drivers: seat belt use and restricting minors to the rear seat; and for motorcycle drivers: helmet use and not carrying a minor on board. At total of 4 173 cars and 1 013 motorcycles were observed. Only 9% of the car drivers wore seatbelts. Of the 246 cars carrying minors, 56% had a minor in the front seat. Regarding the motorcycles drivers, only 12% wore a helmet and 6.7% had a child on board. When these observations were compared with those of the previous five years, findings showed that over the past three years compliance rates had decreased. The results of this study suggest that most drivers in city of Santa Fe do not obey the stated traffic laws. In order to reduce the high rate of mortality from traffic accidents, in addition to legislation and public-awareness campaigns, a system for enforcing compliance is needed.