Synonyms
Epidemiology
It is generally accepted that seat belts save lives. There are ten million motor vehicle accidents in the USA every year with 25,000–30,000 occupant fatalities. In a crash, seat belts prevent often fatal collision with the vehicle interior and/or occupant ejection. The CDC estimates that seatbelt use can reduce severe injury and death by up to 50 %. The force required to restrain a passenger can be considerable, and it is no surprise that injuries due directly to the seat belt occur.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) does not keep statistics on seatbelt-specific injuries. However, such injuries have been well documented in the medical literature since the 1960s and are most often in cases of improper use and high-energy crashes. The earliest descriptions of seatbelt injuries involve constellations of abdominal and lumbar injuries typically seen with lap-only belts. These injuries are seen...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Achildi O et al (2007) Lapbelt injuries and the seatbelt syndrome in pediatric spinal cord injury. J Spinal Cord Med 30(Suppl 1):S21–S24
Anderson PA et al (1991) The epidemiology of seatbelt-associated injuries. J Trauma 31(1):60
Bandstra R et al (2009) Seat-belt injuries in medical and statistical perspectives. NHTSA, Washington, DC
Chance GQ (1948) Note on a type of flexion fracture of the spine. Br J Radiol 21:452–453
Dehner JR (1972) Seatbelt injuries of the spine and abdomen. Am J Roentgenol 111(4):833–843
Garrett JW, Braunstein PW (1962) The seat belt syndrome. J Trauma 2:220–238
Wheeles CR (2012) Chance fracture of the spine. In: Wheeless’ textbook of orthopaedics. Data Trace Internet Publishing, LLC. http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/chance_fracture_of_the_spine. Retrieved 09 Sept 2012
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Harvey, P. (2015). Seatbelt Injuries. In: Papadakos, P.J., Gestring, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Trauma Care. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29613-0_532
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-29613-0_532
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-29611-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-29613-0
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine