Opinion ID: 1180974
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Seat Belts as a Cause of Harm

Text: In Nash, the court noted that seat belts may actually create or enhance injuries instead of preventing them. 21 Ariz. App. at 532, 521 P.2d at 163. There are reports of tragic situations when wearing a seat belt may trap a vehicle occupant in a burning, sinking, or disabled automobile. [28] Such cases are noteworthy precisely because they are so rare. [29] It is statistically far safer for motorists to remain in their vehicles than to suffer the vagaries of a violent ejection from the automobile. [30] There are also claims that properly worn seat belts can cause direct and serious harm to users. These assertions focus on abdominal and spinal injuries that may be attributable to seat belt use. However, it is also true that in almost every instance seat belt-induced injuries are far less drastic than those that would have been incurred without the seat belt use. [31] As a general rule, a motorist is simply better off wearing a seat belt. [32] We conclude from the technological data that continued nonrecognition of the seat belt defense cannot be based on the general concept that seat belts cause harm. The opposite is generally true.