OBJECTIVES The objective was to determine the association between the abdominal seat belt sign and intra-abdominal injuries (IAIs) in children presenting to emergency departments with blunt torso trauma after motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). METHODS This was a planned subgroup analysis of prospective data from a multicenter cohort study of children with blunt torso trauma after MVCs. Patient ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether varying the seat belt load limiter (SBL) according to crash and occupant characteristics could have real-world injury reduction benefits in frontal impacts and, if so, to quantify those benefits. METHODS Real-world UK accident data were used to identify the target population of vehicle occupants and frontal crash scenarios where improved chest protection could b...

Occupants exposed to far-side crashes are those seated on the side of the vehicle opposite the struck side. This study uses the NASS/CDS 1988-98 to determine distributions of AIS 3+ injuries among occupants exposed to far-side crashes and the sources of the injuries. The William Lehman Injury Research Center (WLIRC) data from 1994-98 is used to assess injury mechanisms among seriously injured c...

Automobile crashes are the leading cause of death for those aged 3 to 33, with 43,005 (118 per day) Americans killed in 2002 alone. Seat belt use reduces the risk of serious injury in an accident, and refraining from using a cell phone while driving reduces the risk of an accident. Cell phone use while driving increases accident rates, and leads to 2,600 U.S. fatalities each year. An active pro...

This study examined the psychosocial and behavioral correlates of seat-belt use among 1,728 10th-graders in four Northern California high schools. Parent and friend seat-belt use patterns were most highly correlated with student seat-belt use (r = 0.66 and r = 0.61, respectively) and together accounted for 46% of the variation in use. These relationships held across differences in sex, ethnicit...

brought before parliament in early 1986. The next and obvious stage is to extend the requirement to rear seat occupants. Britain is one of the last of the motorised nations which does not yet require fitting rear seat belts. In depth studies of crashes have shown that one of the limitations to the protection of front seat occupants occurs in frontal collisions when correctly belted front occupa...

This paper investigates the effects of mandatory seat belt laws on driver behavior and traffic fatalities. Using a unique panel data set on seat belt usage rates in all U.S. jurisdictions, we analyze how such laws, by influencing seat belt use, affect traffic fatalities. Controlling for the endogeneity of seat belt usage, we find that it decreases overall traffic fatalities. The magnitude of th...

OBJECTIVE Evaluation of the impact of the Think First head and spinal cord injury prevention program on knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of 11-15 year old students toward injury risks and preventive strategies. SETTING Three junior high and three senior high schools in rural and urban areas of Washington state. METHODS Questionnaire survey before intervention, two weeks and three months a...

We present, along with a literature review, the case report of a 6-year-old boy, involved in a high-speed motor vehicle accident, who sustained a seat belt injury of the lumbar spine. We discuss the clinical presentation of thoracolumbar fractures in children, the sensitivity of clinical examination and radiographic evaluation and the associated abdominal injuries that are commonly present with...

A 36-year-old man presented with an acute abdomen due to perforation of the terminal ileum, 26 days after sustaining blunt abdominal trauma from a seat belt. He had been completely well and undertaking vigorous physical exercise since the injury. This is the first reported case of this type of injury presenting after a long asymptomatic interval.