VALUE OF BELTS

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31771, 30 August 1968, Page 9

VALUE OF BELTS

AN analysis of more than 28,000 crashes involving 42,813 persons has shown that the use of a safety belt gives up to 90 per cent protection in a crash, the Volvo car company, of Sweden, has said.

The analysis said that although unbelted passengers and drivers were killed at crash speeds as low as 12 m.p.h., no belted person was

killed at less than 60 m.p.h. Although the report dealt mainly with lap-and-dlagonal belts with which nearly all the crash cars were fitted, the authoritative Grime report issued in Britain recently said that there was little significant difference in effectiveness between three-point belts and diagonal belts. . Of the 2445 persons killed or injured, according to the Volvo report, 2085 were not wearing belts and 360 were. Of 51 fatalities, only three involved belt-wearers (two drivers and one passenger) and, there was evidence that these belts were worn too loose. Of 496 serious injuries, only 73 involved belt-wearers, and in 1058 slight injuries, only 284 belt-wearers were involved. Front-seat passengers suffered a higher proportion of injuries than the drivers. “The average injury-reduc-ing effect of the safety harness proved to vary between 40 and 90 per cent” said the report.