TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1988//
TI  - Prospective study of the effect of safety belts on morbidity and health care costs in motor-vehicle accidents
JO  - JAMA journal of the American Medical Association
A1  - Orsay, C. P.
A1  - Langenberg, Patricia
A1  - Barrett, J. A.
A1  - Dunne, M.
A1  - Turnbull, T. L.
A1  - Orsay, E. M.
SP  - 3598
EP  - 3603
VL  - 260
IS  - 24
N2  - To assess the impact of safety belt use on the extent of injuries sustained in motor-vehicle accidents and the incurred health care costs, 1,364 patients were prospectively evaluated at four Chicago-area hospitals. Of these, 791 (58%) were wearing a safety belt whereas 573 (42%) were not. The mean injury severity score for safety belt wearers was 1.8 +/- 0.07 vs 4.51 +/- 0.31 in those not wearing a safety belt. Only 6.8% of safety belt wearers required admission vs 19.2% of those not wearing a safety belt. Restrained occupants incurred mean charges of $534 +/- $67 compared with $1583 +/- $201 in unrestrained occupants. Thus, safety belt wearers had a 60.1% reduction in severity of injury, a 64.6% decrease in hospital admissions, and a 66.3% decline in hospital charges. Our findings demonstrate the significant societal burden of nonuse of safety belts in terms of morbidity and the costs of medical care.
LA  - 
SN  - 0098-7484
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -