John D. States

John Dunham States (born 1925 in Rochester, NY) is an orthopedic surgeon who has dedicated his career to improving automotive safety. He is a graduate of the University of Rochester, and received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School. He was a Professor of Orthopedic Surgery at the University of Rochester from 1976 to 1990 and is now a Professor Emeritus.

His interest in automotive safety began when he served as race physician for the Watkins Glen International Speedway. As race physician, he learned the risks to the driver of being thrown from the car and the protection afforded by seat belts.

In 1966, he developed the first set of automobile safety standards. [John D. States "Preventive medicine for traffic accident injuries. Safety standards for automobiles." New York State Journal of Medicine 1966 Oct 15;66(20):2690-4. ] In 1970, he developed an improved shoulder harness to restrain the upper body and prevent injuries that occur when the occupant hits the dashboard or windshield. [John D. States "Improved upper-torso restraint system." New England Journal of Medicine 1970 May 21;282(21):1206-7.]

Dr. States drafted the New York State seat belt law in 1983, the first such law in the US [Click it or ticket] . Similar laws have now been adopted in 49 states [Seat belt laws] , and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration credits these laws with dramatically increasing seat belt use and decreasing injuries and fatalities from traffic accidents [ [http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/TSFLaws/PDFs/810729W.pdf NHTSA Traffic Safety Facts] ] [ [http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/people/injury/research/BuckleUp/ii__trends.htm NHTSA Impact of Seat Belt Laws] ] .

Dr. States received the Distinguished Career Award from the [http://www.icehs.org/ Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section] of the American Public Health Association in 2000 [ [http://www.icehs.org/e-news/ICEHSNewsMarch2007.pdf American Society for Public Health Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section] ] , the Excalibur Award from the National Motor Vehicle Safety Advisory Council and was cited for his work on public safety by Governor Mario Cuomo. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He served as a member of the National Motor Vehicle Safety Advisory Council and chaired the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles Medical Advisory Board. He was also a Visiting Scientist at the Centers for Disease Control.

He is the author of 83 scientific publications [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?term=states+jd PubMed abstracts for John D. States] ] and holds a patent for an improved seat belt latch [US Patent 3494664: Latch for Seat Belts]

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