History

• The risk of abdominal injury from seat belt use has been known for decades, notes the Online Lawyer Source. However, car makers have resisted various measures to modify vehicles so that back seats also have three-point belt systems, which can reduce the risk of injury. In 1967, the National Highway Safety Traffic Administration proposed legislation that would have required three-point seat belts in back seats. That effort failed. Eventually, car makers were required to install three-point seat belts in rear side seating, although the rear middle position in most cars still usually only has a lap belt.
  
  

Design

• Frontal impact is the type of automobile collision most likely to result in abdominal injuries from seat belts, according to the Online Lawyer Source's website. People secured by a three-point seat belt are less likely to sustain seat belt injuries than those using lap belts only. That's because people wearing only lap belts can be thrown forward so that the seat belt digs in at the abdomen. A shoulder belt can help prevent abdominal injuries by keeping the upper torso in place.
  
  

Risk of Injury

• The mortality rate of people who are involved in collisions while not wearing a seat belt is typically more than double of those wearing seat belts, according to one study by researchers at the University of North Carolina's School of Medicine. The incidence of abdominal injury was the same among those who wore seat belts and those who did not. However, the spectrum of organs injured was different among the two groups.
  
  

External Injuries

• Abrasion at the site where the seat belt touches the abdomen often occurs during mild car accidents, according to a 2006 MedScape article by Drs. J.L. Greingor and S. Lazarus. However, this is only a surface injury and poses no serious medical threat. It should disappear after a few days. While the abrasion injuries themselves are not serious, they may be indicative of internal injuries that require medical attention.
  
  

Internal Injuries

• This is, according to MedScape, the most common type of seat belt injury, with the exception of subcutaneous bruising, which can occur from seat belt wear. In fact, it's not uncommon for sternal fractures due to seat belt usage to increase threefold following the introduction of state legislation mandating seat belt use, according to MedScape. Gastrointestinal injuries are also common.