Applications of behavior analysis to prevent injuries from vehicle crashes (Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies Monograph Series)

Americans gather around more than 125 grave sites every day to mourn the losses of loved ones killed in a traffic crash. Each year the disabling injuries from vehicle wrecks number in the millions. Alcohol consumption (a behavioral excess) and inconsistent safety-belt use (a behavioral deficit) contribute substantially to injuries and fatalities from vehicle crashes. Politicians, corporate leaders, employee groups, health and medical professionals, educators, media writers and producers, grass roots agencies, civic and service clubs, and family members urgently need to mount a comprehensive nationwide attack on these behavioral excesses and deficits. This monograph reviews the role of applied behavior analysis in efforts to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and motivate the use of vehicle safety belts, thus preventing injuries and deaths from vehicle crashes. Commentary by Donald M. Baer, Michael Cataldo, Edward Christophersen, H. McIlvaine Parsons, Michael C. Roberts, Bruce A. Thyer. Response by: E. Scott Geller. Edited by: Sigrid S. Glenn.