A series of auto driver and passenger fatalities is reported in which each of the deceased was using a voluntary belt restraint system ("lap belts" or "3-point belts") at the moment of the fatal crash. A reconstruction of each lethal episode, based upon vehicle examination, police reports and autopsy data, leads to the following conclusions: with rare exceptions, deaths occurred in spite of and not because of belt use; 2-point lap belts do not consistently prevent fatal injury in high speed crashes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, a comparison of fatality incidence in belted vs. nonbelted victims yields a significant degree of nonrepresentation of belt users in the total crash fatality population.