Seat belts effectiveness

Multiple independent analyses of seat belt effectiveness, using crash data from different countries, and different statistical methods have all yielded quite similar results, reducing fatalities and injuries by approximately 40-50 percent, as detailed in Table 10-1 (WHO, 2004). However, the exact numbers in the table, should be considered as potentially inflated estimates because they are based on police reports, and these are known to inflate the percent of belt use. This is because drivers - when they can get away with it - will report to the officer that they had their belt on (Li et al., 1999). Consequently as the injury severity decreases, the amoimt of over-estimation of belt use is most likely to increase. 

Reground PP from automotive interior parts was contaminated with up to 15 wt% of POM. At present, there is about 16 kg of PP per 1 kg of POM, the latter used for clips, fasteners, door-lock buttons, pivots, grilles, seat-belt buckles, etc. Presence of POM facilitated processability, and it had little effect on tensile strength of recycled PP, but it improved the tensile modulus by about 12% [Naitove, 1996]. 

The advent of the air bag in no way supersedes the seat belt, which is still accepted as the most generally effective way of restraining the passenger. 

Seat belts are the single most effective means of reducing deaths and serious injuries in traffic crashes. 

Other ADAS technologies are designed to minimize trauma to vehicle occupants in a crash. These include Intelligent Speed Adaptation (which has the effect of reducing vehicle speed, and hence impact forces in a crash) and Seat Belt Reminder... 

Seat belts restrain their wearers within the vehicle and, in the event of a collision, prevent or limit their contact with interior surfaces as well as with other occupants. Seat belts decrease the likelihood of serious injury or death by 40-50% (Cummins et ah, 2011 Evans, 1991). Because of their significant safety benefits, it has generally been concluded that the wearing of seat belts does not result in behavioural adaptation that would support a repeal of the seat belt laws (Hedlund, 2000 Levy and Miller, 2000 Mackay, 1985 Mackay et al 1982 Scott and Wallis, 1985). On the other hand, regulation and enforcement of seat belt laws have resulted in much more modest effects on traffic fatalities than initially forecast (Dee, 1998). This may be a result of the selective recruitment hypothesis (Evans, 1985), which posits that seat belt wearers are inherently more risk aversive than those people who choose not to wear seat belts, and, therefore, they have fewer violations and crashes. Therefore, if seat belt use is mandatory, the people who comply are already less likely to be involved in crashes than those who do not comply (Evans, 1985). Nevertheless, seat belt laws and their enforcement have resulted in major declines in fatalities and serious injuries. 

Dee, T. S. 1998. Reconsidering the effects of seat belt laws and their enforcement status. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 30, 1-10. 

Mackay, M. (1985). Seat Belt Use Under Voluntary and Mandatory Conditions and Its Effects on Casualties. In Human Behavior and Traffic Safety (L. Evans and R. C. Schwing, eds.), pp. 259-277. Plenum Press, New York. 

Active restraints are oecupant restraints that are effective only if the driver activates fiiem. The prime example is seat belt. By far the greatest contributor to injury reduction in file past few decades is the occupants use of seat belts. The current retracting three-point seat belt provides much more protection than the early fixed lap belts. But despite their proven effectiveness, some drivers and passengers are still reluctant to use them. 

Despite their effectiveness, in the absence of laws that require seat belts, meaningful sanctions for not wearing seat belts, and consistent enforcement, some people still do not buckle up. Different study methods, and studies conducted in different countries consistently identify the same characteristics of non-users. The two most common methods used to identify characteristics that distinguish between users and non-users of seat belts have been surveys or interviews and observations. Observations are more objective, but they reveal very little about the driver (gender, apparent age, and some measure of socio-economic status based on the car value). Surveys and interviews can probe a whole host of variables, but because of social desirability they yield higher percentages of seat belt use than direct observations (Parada et... 

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