Seatbelts and, uh, big people

scariestone

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #1

By big I mean heavy, not tall. DH swears that if a person is over 250lbs, in a serious accident the seatbelt will break their ribs, which will pierce their heart and kill them. He's full of BS, right? Has there been any research of this topic? He swears because of this he would be safer not wearing his seatbelt but he does wear it because he doesn't want a ticket. I would just like to prove him wrong(and have piece of mind). At least I have DS well trained. If we leave our carport and DH doesn't have his seatbelt on, DS freaks out and starts screaming at him to put it on.

 

jkrkmama

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #2

I have not heard that. Where did he get that info?

Sent from my Evo Shift using car-seat.org

 

cupcakepirate11

Active member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #3

I have read that seat belts are supposed to hold 300lb people in, so I don't know where he got that info. With the way the belt is supposed to be positioned it is going across the breast plate of your ribs not necessarily directly over your heart. Your shoulder and hips would take the brunt of the forces in an accident (I think)

 

Pixels

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #4

Well, we don't know how heavy my brother is because we can't find a scale that goes up high enough. We know he's over 350. He was hit, his three year old car totaled, and no broken ribs. No broken anything (other than the car). His vehicle, including the seat belt, did its job to protect the occupant.

The seat belt should not cross the heart, and the force isn't really on the ribs. The force is on the sternum (breast bone) and clavical (collar bone), some of the strongest parts of the body. Even if it did somehow crack ribs, there's still no guarantee that they would pierce the heart. However, if he does not wear his seat belt, he is at a high risk of ejection and death.

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Feb 22, 2012

• #5

Ugh! I had a long reply, then the forum ate it.

Anyway, it appears seatbelts need to be tested up to the 95th % male dummy, whose weight is 214 lbs.

Clearly, seatbelts in real life restrain people heavier than that every day.

My DH has been a firefighter for more than 30 years and has never seen a belt fail because someone was too heavy. He has also never seen a death or serious injury due to proper seatbelt use. He has, however, seen a lot of people die due to not wearing one.

 

lawgirl5

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #6

This is something I've heard people say (usually men now that I think of it) for years every now and then. Its an urban legend/old wives tale in my opinion! Just has no common sense to it at all.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #7

scariestone said:

He's full of BS, right?

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Yes. He's going to get much worse injuries being unrestrained. You are far more likely to have severe chest injuries, including broken ribs, if you impact the steering wheel without being restrained. The heart being punctured by ribs is extremely rare, and it's not going to happen from a seatbelt.

 

carseatcoach

Carseat Crankypants

• Feb 22, 2012

• #8

They make seatbelt extenders. I occasionally transport someone who is (I think) between 300# and 350#, and he does not need a seatbelt extender. If they make extenders, and they are intended for people over 350#, then there must be value in seatbelts for people of that size.

 

scariestone

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #9

jkrkmama said:

I have not heard that. Where did he get that info?

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Oh who knows. Half the time I think he just makes up the "facts" he tells me. Ejection is a point I brought up to him. In his scenario, either way you're pretty much going to die. I'd personally rather have a rib pierce my heart than skid along the highway.

So 214lbs is the biggest dummy they use for testing? You would think since there are a lot of Americans that are bigger than that they would test higher than that. I guess that might be cost prohibitive though.

 

LISmama810

Admin - CPS Technician

• Feb 22, 2012

• #10

scariestone said:

Oh who knows. Half the time I think he just makes up the "facts" he tells me. Ejection is a point I brought up to him. In his scenario, either way you're pretty much going to die. I'd personally rather have a rib pierce my heart than skid along the highway.

So 214lbs is the biggest dummy they use for testing? You would think since there are a lot of Americans that are bigger than that they would test higher than that. I guess that might be cost prohibitive though.

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I only spent about 5 mins researching, so I could be wrong. That's what I came up with, though. And the weight was in kg that I had to convert, so that might have been wrong

It's FMVSS 209 in case anyone wants to read it.

 

M

Melanie

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #11

In my uneducated opinion, he's completely full of BS. IF an accident was so severe that the seat belt would break a rib, it would be severe enough to cause other worse injuries from flying around hitting stuff or even being ejected.

In a mild accident, he would be thrown around, possibly into the steering wheel (where the airbag may not deploy) which would be an easy way to break a rib.

If he doesn't want to wear the seatbelt for himself, would he wear it for your chid and other passengers? There are some you tube videos of unrestrained people if he'll watch them. I've told people that don't want to buckle up that I don't want them flying around and killing my kid. Maybe that visual would help him?

 

B

brightredmtn

Well-known member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #12

In my accident that happened 2.5 years ago my mother and I had broken ribs. There was concern that my mother's broken ribs punctured her liver but a CT scan proved that didn't happen. Point being liver puncture is possible in an accident otherwise it wouldn't have been a concern.

We both weigh about 120lbs.

 

An Aurora

Senior Community Member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #13

brightredmtn said:

In my accident that happened 2.5 years ago my mother and I had broken ribs. There was concern that my mother's broken ribs punctured her liver but a CT scan proved that didn't happen. Point being liver puncture is possible in an accident otherwise it wouldn't have been a concern.

We both weigh about 120lbs.

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It's possible, but it's pretty rare, and it's an emergency but surgically repairable. Same with spleen lacerations, punctured lungs, etc.

 

4boysmom

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #14

LISmama810 said:

Anyway, it appears seatbelts need to be tested up to the 95th % male dummy, whose weight is 214 lbs.

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That number seems extremely antiquated... I would think 214 pounds would be closer to the 75%ile... I think dh is 230 (we are at a bit of a don't ask don't tell) and while I know he is overweight he doesn't seem all that much fatter than a decent portion of society and there are LOTS of people heavier than him. His weight is almost all in his belly and even then it is just barely noticable with clothing on. He doesn't really LOOK obese... 214 just seems really low as the topmost "recorded" number

 

Brianna

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #15

:yeahthat: my dad is about 210 and I would consider him to have a solid but not chubby build

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Pixels

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #16

Wikipedia says the 95th percentile male dummy is 6'2", 223 lbs.

Interesting chart with weight for age of adults.

 

4boysmom

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #17

Pixels said:

Wikipedia says the 95th percentile male dummy is 6'2", 223 lbs.

Interesting chart with weight for age of adults.

Click to expand...

so 220 is the 95%ile of a 18 and 80 yo with every other age being higher and peaks at 255ish at midlife... lol that is hardly accurate as a "whole". but yeah... I was not arguing that the dummy was 223 but rather that that dummy is not actually truely "95%ile" for "men" when for 60 years of their lives they aren't that stat.

 

scariestone

New member

• Feb 22, 2012

• #18

Melanie said:

If he doesn't want to wear the seatbelt for himself, would he wear it for your chid and other passengers? There are some you tube videos of unrestrained people if he'll watch them. I've told people that don't want to buckle up that I don't want them flying around and killing my kid. Maybe that visual would help him?

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He does wear his seatbelt but only because he doesn't want a traffic ticket. I'm pretty certain its a primary offense in CA. He wouldn't be driving or riding in my car without a belt on. That goes for everyone who rides with me.

BTW I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks the size of the biggest dummy is too light. I thought maybe it was just because DH and I are both fatties.