Current seat belt and airbag designs may not be doing enough to protect the obese and very thin from serious injuries or fatalities in an accident. Those findings come via a study conducted by researchers at the University Of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

The researchers were looking at how a person’s Body Mass Index impacts his ability to survive serious injuries or death in an accident. To do this, the researchers looked at crash data of over 297,000 accidents between 1998 and 2008. They then looked at crash data, and compared them on the basis of the victim’s/survivor’s Body Mass Index.

They found that obese men (with a BMI of between 35 and 50) had a 14% higher chance of surviving an accident if there were wearing seatbelts, compared to men of regular weight. However, obese men who were not wearing seatbelts were actually 5% more likely to be killed in an accident, compared to men of regular weight. The researchers believe it’s because all the additional fat protects unbelted motorists, while the excess weight actually pushes the motorist deeper into the airbag, increasing his injuries.

Women who were underweight and wearing seatbelts, had an eight percent higher chance of dying in an accident, compared to women of normal weight. However, the researchers were not able to draw specific conclusions about underweight women who were not wearing seat belts.

What the researchers do believe is this – current seatbelts and airbags designs are not doing an optimal job of protecting the excessively overweight or the excessively thin during an accident. Considering that we have both an obesity epidemic in the country, as well as an obsession with thinness in women, this is definitely an area that requires further study.

Houston accident lawyer Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Trial Lawyer representing victims of auto/truck/motorcycle accidents, industrial and workplace accidents and defective products in Houston, Texas as well as throughout Texas and the United States.

Vuk Vujasinovic is a Board Certified Houston personal injury attorney who practices Houston auto accident and other personal injury cases.

For more info on how Vuk can help you with your potential case please call him at (877) 724-7800 or fill out the contact form on the right.

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