[NMC EXP]

...seatbelts do reduce medical costs for ALL of us when there is an accident. There is no denying that fact.

I'll deny your fact.

Do you have evidence to support that claim?

Regards

J.R.

[Peach]

To deny that wearing seatbelts does not reduce medical costs is to fly in the face of medical and forensic science that has been well established for over 2 decades. If you think I'm going to search the web to prove what has been proven repeatedly for over 20 years, think again!

[Luis Gonzalez]

Research has found that lap/shoulder safety belts, when used, reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent. For light truck occupants, safety belts reduce the risk of fatal injury by 60 percent and moderate-to-critical injury by 65 percent.

Recent NHTSA analyses indicate an overall fatality-reducing effectiveness for air bags of 12 percent.

Research on the effectiveness of child safety seats has found them to reduce fatal injury by 71 percent for infants (less than 1 year old) and by 54 percent for toddlers (1-4 years old) in passenger cars. For infants and toddlers in light trucks, the corresponding reductions are 58 percent and 59 percent, respectively.

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2001/2001occpro.pdf