Where children sit in cars: The impact of Rhode Island's new legislation

Objectives. This study evaluated the impact of Rhode Island's legislation r equiring children younger than 6 years to sit in the rear of motor vehicles . Methods. Roadside observations were conducted in Rhode Island and Massachus etts in 1997 and 1998. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate the pro portion of vehicles carrying a child the front seat. Results. Data were collected on 3226 vehicles carrying at least 1 child. In 1998, Rhode Island vehicles were less likely to have a child in the front seat than in 1997 (odds ratio=0.6; 95% confidence interval=0.5, 0.7), where as no significant changes in child passenger seating behavior occurred in M assachusetts during that period. Conclusions. Rhode Island's legislation seems to have promoted safer child passenger seating behavior.