Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes From: carnes@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP (Richard Carnes) Newsgroups: net.auto,net.flame,net.kids,net.singles Subject: Seat belts Message-ID: <429@gargoyle.UChicago.UUCP> Date: Sat, 13-Apr-85 22:19:48 EST Article-I.D.: gargoyle.429 Posted: Sat Apr 13 22:19:48 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 15-Apr-85 01:09:46 EST Organization: U. Chicago - Computer Science Lines: 126 Xref: watmath net.auto:6385 net.flame:9257 net.kids:1172 net.singles:6670 Some pinhead from NJ posted the following misinformed and potentially dangerous comments: >The state of New Jersey released findings from the first month of >the new mandatory seat belt law. No surprise to me that the death >rate went up significantly. This is meaningless unless correlated with a change in the rate of belt usage. Do you have any data on this? Other jurisdictions (e.g. Britain, Australia, Sweden) in which seat-belt laws went into effect have reported that as the rate of belt usage went up, the rate of serious and fatal injuries went down, sometimes sharply. The people who conscientiously obey the laws and buckle up are the people least likely to have an accident in the first place, otherwise the effect would be greater. >I was in a bad accident in which I was seriously injured and my friend >(the passenger) was killed. I was not wearing a seat belt and my friend >was. I'm not preaching what to do, but what would you do if you were >me. I survived because I was not pinned in the car and my friend was. If I were you I would ask someone to explain the term "anecdotal evidence," and then spend some time with a quadriplegic or paraplegic, most of whom received their injuries in an auto accident -- and few if any of whom had been wearing seat belts. Such accidents as you describe are quite rare. Here are some stats on RISK REDUCTIONS with use of safety belts in two common types of accidents (source: Univ. of Michigan Transportation Research Institute): FRONTAL CRASHES Fatalities: Serious injuries: head 82% head 71% neck 100% neck 100% chest 53% chest 26% abdomen 29% abdomen 61% arms & legs 81% ROLLOVER CRASHES Fatalities: Serious injuries: head 84% head 100% neck 100% neck 100% chest 67% chest 71% abdomen 48% abdomen 67% arms 70% legs 74% Note the high rates of risk reduction for head and neck injuries, and hence for brain and spinal cord injuries. In a 30 mph crash with a solid object, an unbelted occupant hits the windshield or other interior surface of the vehicle with the same impact as a fall from a three-story building. If the occupant were an adult of average weight holding a child in his/her lap, the child would be crushed to death. The impact of a 10 mph crash is about the same as a fall from 7 feet or so. Safety belts help occupants "ride down" the force of the crash by holding them in place and preventing contact with either the interior of the vehicle or other occupants. Belts also keep occupants inside the vehicle. Studies reveal that ejection is a major factor in fatalities and severe injuries. Being thrown out of a vehicle is 25-40 times more lethal. That is why motorcycle accidents are so dangerous -- the riders are nearly always thrown from their cycles. Belts can prevent you from being crushed by your own car or scraped along the pavement. According to a study covering 28,000 traffic accidents in Sweden, no fatalities involving safety belt users were found at crash speeds of under 60 mph. But speeds as low as 12 mph resulted in deaths among unbelted occupants. Some more facts that may surprise some of you: 75% of motor vehicle related deaths occur less than 25 miles from home; 50% of serious and fatal injuries occur in vehicles traveling less than 40 mph. Less than 0.5% of all injury-producing collisions involve fire or submersion. But even in these cases, wearing a belt can save a life by keeping the occupant conscious and alert, able to get out and to help other occupants. If you haven't worn a belt in years, you may find that the newer ones are quite comfortable and help to you maintain a comfortable posture. Late model cars are equipped with a one-piece lap-shoulder belt that is designed to allow freedom of movement. In case of a sudden stop, an inertial device locks the belt in place. Injuries due to belts have been reported, but in these rare situations the belt either was either inappropriately worn or the crash was so severe that the occupant would have been more seriously injured if not belted. Safety belts can reduce the severity of an accident by keeping the driver in control of the car after the impact. Pregnant women: The American Medical Association reports that pregnant women should wear seat belts. The primary cause of fetal death in auto accidents is the death of the mother. If you are an average driver you face a 1 in 6 chance of being involved in a crash in a given year and about a 1 in 100 chance of suffering a serious injury during a given year. RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF TRAFFIC SAFETY DO NOT DISPUTE THE APPROXIMATE CORRECTNESS OF THE FOLLOWING FIGURES: -- Safety belts cut the number of serious injuries received by roughly one-half. -- Safety belts cut fatalities by 40-60%. IN OTHER WORDS, NOT WEARING A BELT ROUGHLY DOUBLES YOUR CHANCES OF BEING SERIOUSLY HURT OR KILLED IN A CRASH. If you think you're a good driver and won't have an accident, remember that you can't control the drunken moron in the car coming at you, or the poor road conditions that you were not aware of. So those of you who don't wear seat belts, please start to make it a habit now. Make your kids buckle up whenever they ride. And if there are any macho men out there who think real men don't worry about safety and don't wear seat belts, remember that real men care about the people who care about and depend on them. Richard Carnes, ihnp4!gargoyle!carnes