Obese, Pregnant Drivers Take More Risks With Seat Belts

If you need another reason to put down the Big Mac and go for a jog every once in awhile, try this: If you do, you'll be less likely to die in a car accident.

According to studies by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, not only are obese people more likely to die or be severely injured in a car accident because of the negative health consequences of being overweight, but also because they are less likely to wear their seat belts. Only 70% of obese people regularly wear their seat belts, as opposed to 83% of the general driving population.

Today, 40 million Americans are considered obese, with another 58 million overweight people on their heels. If you want a good illustration of how fat our country has become, take a look at seat belts. In just 10 years, automakers have gone from making seat belts 12 inches longer than required by law to making them 18 to 20 inches longer.

These risks are also associated with pregnant women, who also too frequently choose to not buckle up because the belt is uncomfortable. Recently, we wrote about a seat belt designed specifically for pregnant women.

NHTSA is considering upgrading its belt requirements, but with belts already longer than law requires, it seems unlikely such a change would do much. Perhaps Ford has the right idea: It’s studied the possibility of four-point seat belts, like those worn by NASCAR drivers, which it thinks might be more comfortable for larger drivers.

Buckle Up Over That Belly (Detroit News)

Comments

I have to admit I'm a bit peeved at the suggestion that fat people just "go out for a jog" - apparently in an attempt to lose weight - when the real problem is right there in the article:

"Seat belt requirements, which haven't changed in 40 years, require are that belts accommodate a 215-pound man who has a seated hip circumference of 47 inches."

Selt belt requirements haven't changed in 40 years! Even if manufacturers are offering longer belts, a few of them don't offer extenders.

The solution isn't to tell people to lose weight; that's silly. The solution is to accommodate bigger people.

I think that the article is simply stating that if you are overweight, you should consider losing it because you are at greater risk of injury or death in an auto accident.

Bowrider, I understand, but losing weight shouldn't be a default option for anyone, nor should it be assumed that people can or want to lose weight. Our bodies need to be safe whatever their *current* sizes are, and the auto industry is falling down a bit on this.

For what it's worth, it's not always just a question of discomfort keeping fat drivers and passengers from belting up. In some cases, the belt is too small to fasten at all. There is nothing scarier than knowing you're taking your life in hand because the appropriate equipment needed for your safety just isn't available.

Sure, saying "lose weight" is the easy answer to give, but even if that were a choice I wanted to make, that takes time. How do I keep safe in the meantime?

Perhaps the headline of this article should be "Automakers Putting Passengers at Risk Through Outdated Seat Belt Design".

Even if "lose weight" was the only option for fat people, what about pregnant women? Should we have vanity inductions at seven months to accommodate auto manufacturers? Or would they suggest that we go back to the dark ages where pregnant women just shouldn't be allowed to leave the house?

I think the real message here is that there is an obesity crisis. If people have increased their size that significantly in the 40 years out of the thousands that preceded it, its time to lose weight.

When I was pregnant, I had trouble buckling the seatbelt. After 7 months, I couldn't fit behind the wheel and reach the pedals at the same time (I'm 4'11"), and had to sit in the front passenger seat of my husband's Jeep (I couldn't fit in the back either. Everyone knows that the front passenger seat is the most dangerous seat to be in. If a belt can't fit over a pregnant tummy, then car manufacturers are seriously falling down on the job.

CaliforniaCyclist, people have also gotten taller in the past 40 years; is there a Height Crisis?

obesity (BMI > 30 when NOT pregnant) is a serious health problem, just as much as diabetes is. on the one hand, our society needs to be more sensitive and not discriminate against them as a group; on the other hand, it's still a health issue that should not be ignored. It is not just a variation of the norm like hair color or, as Paul thought, height.

Paul:

Obviously not as fast as they have gotten wider.