Abstract
In Finland during the period 1972-1983, there were 3. 564 severe traffic accidents involving one or more victims dying within 30 days of the accident. Forty-two of the victims had been wearing a seatbelt and had an abdominal trauma as the main cause of death or as first diagnosis of injury. It seems that the seatbelt is less effective in protecting wearers from severe or fatal abdominal injuries in lateral impact collisions.