Even when they make it to the emergency room alive,
car crash victims who weren't wearing seatbelts
are far more likely than belt users to die, study
findings show.
Researchers found that among
nearly 24,000 car accident patients who were brought
to the ER, those who weren't wearing a seatbelt
during the crash were three times more likely to
die in the hospital.
In fact, unbelted crash victims accounted for more
than two-thirds of patients who died in the ER,
according to Shane Allen and colleagues at the Medical
College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
In addition, the researchers found, unbelted drivers
and passengers were nearly three times more likely
than belt users to require admission to the hospital
for further treatment. Only 20 percent of unbelted
patients could be successfully treated in the ER
alone.
The findings, published in the journal Academic
Emergency Medicine, come from data on 23,920 Wisconsin
residents who were treated in the ER for car accident
injuries in 2002.
Almost 5,300 of these crash victims were not wearing
a seatbelt at the time of the wreck. They were more
likely than belt users to be male, or to have been
drinking before the accident.
Besides their higher fatality rate, unbelted car
occupants were at greater risk of suffering severe
injuries to the head, spine, abdomen and other body
regions.
The findings, say the researchers, argue for tougher
seatbelt laws.
As of 2005, they note, only 21 U.S. states had
what are known as primary-enforcement seatbelt laws
- meaning police can pull drivers over for seatbelt
violations alone. In other states, drivers can only
be cited when they are stopped for a separate violation.
According to Allen's team, research shows that
when jurisdictions move to primary enforcement,
seatbelt use climbs as much as 15 percent, and car
crash injuries and deaths decline.
SOURCE: Academic Emergency Medicine, online March
10, 2006.
