Citation

Walz F, Niederer PF, Zollinger U, Renfer A. Proc. IRCOBI 1977; 5: 194-205.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1977, International Research Council on Biomechanics of Injury)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

On January 1,1976 a law became effective in Switzerland requiring passenger car occupants to be secured by safety belts. At the same time the Swiss Government initiated a one year study on car accidents involving persons who were belted and sustained severe or fatal injuries. 304 accidents with 153 killed and 257 severely injured (OAIS = 2-6) occupants were analyzed during this study. Data collection and analysis are based on police reports, hospital documentation, photographs and (in part) on scene investigations, photogramnetric methods and technical examination of the belts.

Frontal crashes with an impact direction of 12 o'clock are the most traumatic ones for belt wearers. Nearly the same traumatisation arises from oblique collisions with 1,2,10 and 11 o'clock impact direction. The latter are analyzed in terms of seating position,injury pattern and severity. The same relations are shown also for the 3 and 9 o'clock side-impacts.

This paper has to be viewed in connection with other papers published by the same authors.

Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Impact Trauma. Berlin, Germany. 7,8,9 September 1977

Language: en