Seat Belt Entanglement in Rollover Accidents: Physical Evidence and Occupant Kinematics

Raasch, Christine; Davee, Daniel; Luepke, Peter

doi:10.4271/2008-01-1237

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…These reports have included the description of four cases of real-world seat-belt-failure-related ejections in which there was evidence of OUE interaction with a shoulder belt, along with substantial injury to the extremity, including amputation in one case (14,15). Additionally, prior authors have described both sled and full-scale experiments conducted with anthropomorphic test devices (crash test dummies) and computer modeling, demonstrating shoulder-belt-associated OUE loading during dummy ejection (13)(14)(15). The conclusions drawn in these three studies regarding the certainty of OUE in a seat-belt-release-related ejection are fallacious due to the lack of generalizability of the findings from the four case studies and dummy tests to the real-world.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While there is epidemiologic evidence for an association between OUE (and head) injury and seat belt failure, prior reports have characterized such injuries as certain or near certain when there is an ejection following a seat belt release. These reports have included the description of four cases of real‐world seat‐belt‐failure‐related ejections in which there was evidence of OUE interaction with a shoulder belt, along with substantial injury to the extremity, including amputation in one case . Additionally, prior authors have described both sled and full‐scale experiments conducted with anthropomorphic test devices (crash test dummies) and computer modeling, demonstrating shoulder‐belt‐associated OUE loading during dummy ejection .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several prior investigators have suggested that in the event of a seat belt latch failure and subsequent ejection, significant injuries to an occupant's outboard upper extremity (OUE), such as soft tissue degloving and amputation, will invariably occur as the webbing retracts and cinches onto the extremity as the occupant is ejected . The corollary of this theory is that if an occupant has been ejected and the seat belt latch is found to be faulty, the absence of a significant OUE injury is a reliable indication that the seat belt was not used.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Injury Pattern as an Indication of Seat Belt Failure in Ejected Vehicle Occupants

Freeman

Eriksson

Leith

2014

Journal of Forensic Sciences

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Prior authors have suggested that when occupant ejection occurs in association with a seat belt failure, entanglement of the outboard upper extremity (OUE) with the retracting shoulder belt will invariably occur, leaving injury pattern evidence of belt use. In the present investigation, the authors assessed this theory using data accessed from the NASS-CDS for ejected front seat occupants of passenger vehicles. Logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between seat belt failure status and injuries. Injury types associated with seat belt failure were significant OUE and head injuries (OR = 3.87, [95% CI 1.2, 13.0] and 3.1, [95% CI 1.0, 9.7], respectively). The two injury types were found to be a predictor of seat belt use and subsequent failure only if combined with a high (≥0.8) precrash probability of belt use. The injury pattern associated with a seat belt failure-related ejection has limited use in the forensic investigation of crash-related ejections.

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