title: Non-fatal injuries sustained by seatbelt wearers: a comparative study.
abstract: The injuries sustained by 969 drivers and front-seat passengers in road-traffic accidents were studied. Altogether 196 (20-2%) of the drivers and passengers were wearing seat belts and 773 (79-8%) were not. The injuries among the two groups differed greatly in both severity and distribution. A total of 54 (27-6%) of the seatbelt wearers sustained one or more fractures compared with 300 (38-8%) of the non-wearers, and 18 (9-2%) of the seatbelt wearers were severely injured compared with 300 (38-8%) of the non-wearers. Soft-tissue injuries to the face were sustained by only 29 (14-8%) of the seatbelt wearers compared with 425 (55%) of the non-wearers. Since wearing seatbelts may become compulsory, the type and pattern of injuries to be expected in wearers should be appreciated.
mesh_terms: D000007:Abdominal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D000063:Accidents, Traffic; D001134:Arm Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D012622:Seat Belts; D013124:Spinal Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D013898:Thoracic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D014911:Whiplash Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*