Conn, J. M., Chorba, T. L., Peterson, T. D., Rhodes, P. and Annest, J. L. (1993). Effectiveness of safety-belt use: A study using hospital-based data for nonfatal motor vehicle crashes.

To evaluate the effectiveness of safety-belt use in reducing the likelihood of a serious injury, we analyzed data from the Iowa Safety Restraint Assessment study collected from 893 front-seat passenger car occupants treated for nonfatal injuries in the emergency department of 16 Iowa hospitals from November 1987 through March 1988. Data analyzed included demographic information, motor vehicle and crash-related information, and medical information collected on all driver-seat and right-front-seat occupants. Logistic regression analyses were used to assess outcomes for front-seat occupants who did or did not use safety belts. The crude odds of being seriously injured were greater for those who were not using safety belts than for those who were (4.4 to 1 respectively) at the time of the crash. The odds of a serious injury for people not using safety belts versus those using safety belts was greater in larger cars than in smaller cars. The odds of a serious injury for people not using safety belts versus those using safety belts was greater in larger cars than in smaller cars. [Author Abstract]