Carlos Arce, PhD, Founder, NuStats, 3006 Bee Caves Road, Suite A-300, Austin, TX 78746, T. Bella Dinh-Zarr, PhD, MPH, Director of Traffic Safety Policy, AAA National Office, 607 14th Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005, 202.942.2060, dinhzarr@national.aaa.com, and Dannielle Sherrets, MPH, Project Manager, Traffic Safety Policy, AAA National Office -Government Relations, 607 14th Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005.

Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Latinos age 1-44 years. Seat belts reduce the risk of death in a crash by at least 45%. This study examines beliefs and behaviors related to seat belt usage among Mexican immigrant drivers in Southern California.

Subjects were adults born in Mexico, residing in the Los Angeles area, and who reported being regular drivers. Interviewing was conducted in four two-hour group sessions involving ten subjects per group. Recruitment of the respondents followed a 2 x 2 stratification design with educational attainment (low, moderate) and exposure to the United States (low, high) as the stratification variables. The overwhelming majority of these Mexican immigrants had little or no driving experience prior to coming to the U.S. Subjects also had little exposure to the benefits of safety belt use in Mexico. Core beliefs about traffic safety center on being as invisible as possible to other drivers and law enforcement. The personal investment in not being noticed involves prioritizing vehicle maintenance, use of seat belts, and careful decisions about travel routes. About three-quarters reported they did not have a license, frequently saying they drove “con la licencia de Dios” or “with God’s license”.

The full paper reports more fully on subjects’ beliefs regarding the effectiveness of seat belts. We discuss some significant policy implications about unlicensed drivers, the future of undocumented drivers, and effective sources of information and interventions for this population.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the demographics of the Latino population in the U.S. and its risk of death and injuries due to motor vehicle crashes.
• Articulate the priorities for traffic safety in the Mexican immigrant community.
• Discuss potentially effective methods to target traffic safety messages and interventions to the Latino immigrant community.

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Latinos

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.