Making Light: Seatbelts Save Lives

Making Light: Seatbelts Save Lives: "Seatbelts Save Lives
Posted by Jim Macdonald at 11:02 AM * 501 comments

Do you know how we can tell the difference between people who were wearing their seatbelts and those who weren’t, at the scene of an automobile accident? The ones who were wearing their seatbelts are standing around saying “This really sucks,” and the ones who weren’t are kinda just lying there.

This is not to say that all unrestrained traffic accidents are fatals, or that seatbelted folks are invulnerable. But if you’re playing the odds….

The proximate cause of this post is the recent automobile accident involving Jon S. Corzine, governor of New Jersey.

Dr. Robert Ostrum said that Corzine’s surgery was successful but noted that the governor would need two more operations on his leg in the coming days.

Doctors also inserted a breathing tube that would remain “for days to weeks, until [Corzine] is able to breathe on his own again,” Ostrum said.

Corzine had a broken sternum, a broken collarbone, a slight fracture of his lower vertebrae, a broken left leg, six broken ribs on each side and a laceration on his head, said Dr. Steven Ross, head of trauma for the hospital.

The two other persons in the vehicle sustained minor injuries. Bet you’ll never guess which two were wearing their seatbelts." (more at top link)