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Seat
Belts Help Prevent
Death in SUV Rollovers
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Sports utility vehicle (SUV) drivers who
buckle up have a good chance of staying alive in the event of
a rollover, according to a new report on seat belt effectiveness
conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA).
``This new
study shows that seat belts are 80% effective in reducing fatalities
in light trucks (including sport utility vehicles) during rollover
crashes compared with a 21% effectiveness in reducing fatalities
in passenger cars during side impact crashes,'' according to the
agency.
The author
of the report, Dr. Joseph Tonning of the NHTSA in Washington,
DC, notes the importance of the findings given the propensity
for SUVs to roll over during crashes.
Overall, seat
belt effectiveness in reducing fatalities remains at 45% for passenger
cars and 60% for light trucks and SUVs--figures that have not
changed since the last time the group studied seat belt effectiveness,
in 1988.
While seat
belts are ``the single most effective occupant protection device
in vehicles,'' the type of crash plays a major role in how well
a seat belt can do its job, according to the report published
in the June issue of Annals of Emergency Medicine.
Seat belts
were found to be 60% effective in reducing deaths when a passenger
car strikes a fixed object such as a tree or a pole in a frontal
impact crash, while they are 39% effective in reducing fatalities
when a passenger car strikes a larger vehicle head-on.
From 1975
to 1999, seat belts are credited with saving an estimated 123,213
lives, with 11,197 saved in 1999 alone, the report indicates.
``In June
2000, the national seat belt use among front seat passengers was
estimated at 71%. If the seat belt use rate in the United States
had been 90%, an additional 5,500 lives would have been saved
and 121,000 injuries prevented,'' Tonning writes.
Through legislation
and strict enforcement, Tonning argues that such a high rate of
seat belt use is not unrealistic. He points to California and
New Mexico as states that have achieved seat belt usage rates
nearing 90%.
SOURCE:
Annals of Emergency Medicine 2001;37:728-729.
Reference
Source 89
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