TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1988//
TI  - Examination of some possible biases in double pair comparison estimates of safety belt effectiveness
JO  - Accident analysis and prevention
A1  - Evans, Leonard
SP  - 215
EP  - 218
VL  - 20
IS  - 3
N2  - Biases in double pair comparison estimates of safety belt effectiveness due to two effects (noncoding of some surviving passengers, and driver/passenger impact during crashes) are investigated by calculating effectiveness from fatality frequencies assumed altered by the biases. Noncoding surviving right-front passengers does not affect estimates for drivers, but does overestimate slightly passenger effectiveness. Two biasing driver/passenger contact effects occur for right-side impacts--a "cushioning" effect (risk to unbelted driver is reduced by striking passenger rather than the vehicle interior) and a "missile" effect (passenger risk is increased by being struck by unrestrained driver). Cushioning and missile effects both reduce estimates; their combined effects could cause right-side impact effectiveness to be underestimated by as much as 20% (probably much less). Correcting for all effects increases the overall estimate from 42.6% to 43.2%. Thus, to the nearest percent, the result is still that if all presently unbelted drivers and right-front-seat passengers were to become wearers, fatalities to this group would decline by (43 +/- 3)%.
LA  - en
SN  - 0001-4575
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0001-4575(88)90005-X
ID  - ref1
ER  -