The Degree of Benefit of Belts in Reducing Injury - an Attempt to Explain Study Discrepancies

Numerous analyses of accident injury data have tried to assess safety belt benefits, but they have not been able to reflect a consensus on the degree of these benefits. This paper examines seventeen safety belt studies to identify the possible causes for the disparate assessments. Factors that contribute to this disparity include differences in injury scale values, inaccuracies in reporting occupants' belt status, and variations in sampling criteria.