Seat Belt Usage

Two experiments employed surveys to address seat belt experience and use as well as perceptions of risk associated with various seat belt configurations. In Experiment 1, a questionnaire was administered to two samples: 104 srudents at the University of Houston and 162 volunteers at a shopping mall in Raleigh, North Carolina. Of primary interest was the use of manual lap belts in motorized shoulder belt systems and reasons for their use or non use. Results showed that compared to manual three point belts, usage rates for manual lap belts in the motorized system were lower.  Forgetting and traveling a short distance were frequently cited as reasons for not fastening belts. Estimates of fatalities in a head-on collision scenario indicated lap belts and shoulder belts were perceived to provide equal protection. In Experiment 2, 147 students at the University of Houston completed a follow-up questionnaire. Usage patterns were virtually the same as in Experiment 1. Estimates of likelihood to use lap belts after viewing six different warnings about seat belt use showed warnings containing more explicit hazard information were likely to lead to higher use rates.

Seat Belt Injury with Placental Separation – A Case Report

Marguerite-Joan Joseph

Old Trafford Medical Centre & Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, General Hospital, Ministry of Health, St. George’s, Grenada. West Indies.

Abstract
In this report, the first case of abuptio placenta with laceration, following a road traffic accident with seat belt injury in Grenada, is described.  The patient had a gestation of 24 weeks duration when she presented, one week after the seat belt law came into effect.  Emergency assessment was followed by serial ultrasound surveillance.  Conservative management allowed greater foetal viability.  Delivery was by Caesarean section at a gestational age of 33 weeks and 1 day. The placenta was subjected to gross and microscopic pathological examination.

The injuries noted at the initial emergency assessment were: contusion over the right deltoid muscle, bladder contusion causing microscopic haematuria, and a concealed abruption on ultrasound.  During the conservative management regime a moderate haemorrhage suggested extension of the abruption at 30 weeks and 5 days – 2½ week before delivery.  Emergency delivery was done upon a diagnosis of significant revealed haemorrhage resulting in maternal hypotension and foetal tachycardia.  A normal live male infant was delivered; pathological examination confirmed separation and fragmentation of the inferior edge of the placenta.  The blood loss at delivery was estimated to be 1.7L compared with a total loss of 1.95L.  The maternal post-operative haemoglobin was 6.9 mg/dl, representing a reduction of 5.6 mg/dl, from the start point of 12.5 mg/dl at 24 weeks gestation.

Conclusion: An adult should wear the seat belt directly over the pelvic girdle.  This should be emphatically advised in routine parent-craft classes as part of the sector-wide approach to preventing trauma morbidity and maternal deaths.

Traffic accidents are significant social problems that should be addressed at the global scale. One of the most important security features that enable people to survive after a traffic accident is seat belt. In this study; the habit of using safety belts were compared with practical methods. First, using of seat belts attitudes was measured of a survey. After, Seat Belt Simulation Vehicle (SBSV) was introduced and provided to be used by samples. In the final stage, samples experienced SBSV were analyzed by seatbelt attitude scale. 

Trafik kazaları küresel düzeyde ele alınması gereken önemli bir toplumsal sorundur. Trafik kazası sonrasında kişilerin hayatta kalabilmesini sağlayan en önemli güvenlik unsurlarından biri emniyet kemeridir. Bu çalışmada; emniyet kemeri kullanma alışkanlığı uygulamalı metot ile karşılaştırılmıştır. Öncelikle örneklemin emniyet kemeri kullanma tutumları anket yardımıyla ölçülmüştür. Sonrasında tedarik edilen Emniyet Kemeri Simülasyon Aracı’nın (EKSA) tanıtımı ve kullanılması sağlanmıştır. Son aşamada ise EKSA tecrübesini yaşayan örneklemin emniyet kemeri tutumları hazırlanan ölçek ile analiz edilmiştir.

Seat belts have been effective in reducing serious injuries and deaths in vehicular accidents. However, their use by women in the third trimester of pregnancy can cause placental damage and fetal injury or death in relatively minor motor vehicle accidents without severely injuring pregnant women. The lack of seat belt use in similar or more serious accidents could cause severe injuries or death to pregnant women from impacts within the cabin or from ejection, and in turn could lead to fetal injuries or deaths. The present study sought to determine whether women between the ages of 16 and 45 (child bearing age) would like to be informed of these risks. Ninety-nine of the 101 women surveyed indicated they would like to be informed of the risks, and that they would expect to find this information in the vehicle's owners manual. In dealing with the risks, some women indicated that they would wear the seatbelts and others indicated they would not. Most respondents indicated that they would reduce the risks by reducing their use of the vehicle during pregnancy. These results have implications for risk communications.