seat belts

[Dee Sa]

My other half says that if you brake suddenly in an accident scenario you could die by strangulation from your seat belt. I said I have never heard of this happening, who is right pls , opinions appreciated.

[mussy1985]

theoretically yes it can happen, esspiecally in childre. you see the problem that comes with seat belts is that for a fully grown adult (and probably children over 5 foot) the seat belt goes from level with the shoulder blade down to the side of the hip. If a child under 5 foot is sat in a car seat the belt may go across the neck and then in a crash or sudden braking the belt will stop the child moving forward but the belt may dig in and strangle the child. If a child is to small and the belt would constrict around the neck area do not allow the child to tuck the belt under the arm, this causes the belt to be less effective than even the middle lap belt and in a crash could cause serious back and spinal injuries. there are products on the market that aid the belt to fit correctly and the government is introduction a mandatory requirement that children under a certain height must sit in a booster seat, to stop the from happening. on bc.co.uk/dragonsden is a product that aids the belts use for younger passengers that was taken to very well on the show

hope this has helped

mussy1985

[Gef]

Not if the seat belt is adjusted properly - mussy has given a good answer regarding children but the new law regarding booster seats was introduced this week.

[Toureman]

Yes thousands of people are killed every day in the UK from strangulation by seat belt.

Don't be silly.

[ugly_bob]

That's how the drummer from Def Leppard lost his arm. Not form strangualtion obviously, but from a seat belt. He'd more than likely have died without it, but that's another story.

[willowman]

Having seen the face of a friend who wasn't wearing a seat belt and went through the windscreen, I'll take my chance with wearing the belt.

[Dee Sa]

many thanks for the replies, he is such a know all and I dont always believe him [ been married 20 years!]
Dee

[Impret-Sir]

Utter rubbish! Strangulation occurs when blood flow to the brain is cut off due to occlusion of the large blood vessels in the neck, NOT buy consticting of the trachea (windpipe), which is to all practical purposes impossible. A seat belt would only press on the atery on the outside of the neck, the vessel on the inside would not be effected, so that would continue to supply blood to the brain, also strangulation does not occur 'just like that', it takes a time for the oxygen starvation to render the person unconcious, so you would need to have the belt accross the artery for at least a full minute befoore anything would happen.

[Impret-Sir]

Sorry, I suppose I should qualify that statement about not being able to crush the trachea before someone jumps down my throat, (no pun intended!), of course its not impossible to do, but the force required would be more than a seat belt could apply, (the trachea is made up of strong rings of cartledge in a muscular sheath, and is very strong), and a force strong enough to crush it would probably have snapped a few neck vertibrae first!

[umm]

i never wear a seatbelt...the reason for this is i was in a head on crash 19 years ago and i was thrown through the windscreen as i have never worn them,point is when i was going through windscreen the engine was pushed into car and ended up where the drivers seat was..so if i had been wearing a belt i would have probably been killed by the engine.
i have been stopped by police several times in past 19 years for not wearing seat belt,some let me off with it but most do not and charge me �30 which i pay without a problem.
i am alive today by not wearing one and no one will make me start doing so.
i realise this action is illegal but it is not exactly the crime of the century..laws are there to be bent.after all politicians bend them every day??

[Impret-Sir]

umm, apart from the legal aspect of your behaivour I suppose the decision is a personal one, but I would say that there are worse things than being killed! in my career in the health service I have lost count of the number of RTA victims I have seen who did not wear seatbelts in a shunt. The dead ones were the lucky ones. Having the top sliced off your head like a boiled egg by the roof edge or dashboard for example, or losing your face/eyes as you crash through the glass, etc etc. No-one can really make an argument that seatbelts do not contribute to an increase in overall safety, of course there will always be exceptions, like the case you site, but in the long run, you are safer with it on than not.

[pope-ye]

umm probably wont be so lucky the next time as modern screens are laminated and bonded into the body and are more likely to break his neck.

[umm]

no matter what anyone says i have made a decision not to wear a belt, anyway i now drive a two and half ton jeep not with laminated screen,so i think i will come off better if there was a next time..
to answer impret-sir i did not come away from crash scratch free...i have huge scar on head ,twisted ribs,and nylon knee caps.............trust me i know the implications from both sides of the arguement of whether or not to wear a belt..