FATALITY RISK FOR BELTED DRIVERS VERSUS CAR MASS

This study was performed to determine how the likelihood of a belted driver being killed in a single car crash depends on the mass of the car. The results are presented as graphical and analytical comparisons of fatality likelihood versus car mass for belted and unbelted drivers. It is concluded that the effect of car mass on relative driver fatality likelihood is essentially the same for belted and unbelted drivers (for example, the present analysis gives that a belted driver in a 900 kg car is 2. 3 times as likely to be killed in a single car crash as is the belted driver in an 1800 kg car. The corresponding ratio determined here for unbelted drivers is 2. 4). As a consequence of this conclusion, the relative effectiveness of seat belts in preventing driver fatalities is similar for cars of different masses.