Chest and abdominal injuries caused by seat belt loading

Hill, J. R.; Mackay, G. M.; Morris, A. P.

This study investigates the nature and severity of seat belt induced injuries to the chest and abdomen in car crashes. Injury and occupant details were obtained from crashes that occurred in the Midlands of England between November 1983 and August 1990, involving 3276 front seat car occupants.

AIS 1 injuries to the chest and abdomen, were found to be very common. 6.1% of the total database were found to have sustained an AIS ≥ 2 injury to either the chest or abdomen caused only by the seat belt, the majority of these injuries being fractures to the ribs and sternum. The chest was more frequently injured than the abdomen. Types of injury, trends in injury severities, and factors such as speed change and occupant characteristics are discussed. 0.4% of occupants on the database sustained fatal injuries from their seat belt.

Year

Entry

1985

Larder DR, Twiss MK, Mackay GM. Neck injury to car occupants using seat belts. In: 29th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7-9, 1985; Washington, DC.153-165.

1985

The Abbreviated Injury Scale 1985 Revision. Arlington Heights, IL: Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM); 1985.

1991

Mackay GM, Parkin S, Hill J, Munns JAR. Restrained occupants on the non-struck side in lateral collisions. In: 35th Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 7, 1991; Toronto, Canada.119-132.

1962

Garrett JW, Braunstein PW. The seat belt syndrome. J Trauma. May 1962;2(3):220-238.

1979

Rattenbury SJ, Gloyns PF, Hayes HRM, Griffiths DK. The biomechanical limits of seat belt protection. In: 23rd Annual Proceedings, Association for the Advancement of Automotive Medicine (AAAM). October 4-6, 1979; Louisville, KY.162-176.