This report, which is a comparative analysis of the injury risks for front seat occupants versus rear seat occupants shows that it is just as important to wear a seat belt in the rear seat as it is in the front seat. The report is based on approximately 2000 relatively serious accidents in which a Volvo 140 or 240 was involved and in which there was at least one rear seat occupant in the Volvo car. When the injury patterns for adults are compared we find that the risk of injury is approximately the same, irrespective of where in the car the occupant is sitting, and also that the seat belt has at least as large an injury reducing effect in the rear seat as it has in the front seat. For adult occupants, the injury reducing effect of the seat belt is 28% in the rear seat. Each year, more than 5000 persons travelling in the rear seat of a car in Sweden are killed or injured. A large proportion of these persons would have sustained less serious injuries or would have entirely escaped injury if they had been wearing a seat belt. Children, who comprise a large proportion of the total of rear seat passengers, are also recommended to use a seat belt. Restrained by a seat belt and sitting on a seat belt safety cushion (until tall enough not to need one) the child is much better protected than when sitting unrestrained in the rear seat.
Samenvatting