Retraction failure and unlatching are common seat belt malfunctions. When the safety belt retracting mechanism fails, the seat belt will fail to hold the passenger snugly during an accident. Certain types of seat belts have latches on the front of the buckle. Impact to the back of the buckle may cause the seat belt to unlatch.
The design of a seatbelt can contribute to seatbelt injury due to improper use, reports Wolloch.
Systems that automatically move a shoulder strap over the passenger as the door closes may cause a passenger to disregard the lap belt portion of the system. A shoulder belt alone directs crash forces to the head and neck. Such door-mounted systems can also contribute to passenger ejection if the door opens during a traffic accident.
Protruding release buttons on safety belts are also dangerous, reports Wolloch. The release may be bumped or jostled by the passenger unknowingly.
Another seat belt danger consists of the window shade device. This system allows the passenger to create slack in a seat belt so that they can bend, move and turn. A quick tug is required to restore the retracting mechanism and yet passengers rarely engage in this safety-restoring procedure.
Wearing a seat belt while your seat is reclined is another danger. Tami Martin is now a paraplegic after she and her mother were involved in a low-impact, low-speed traffic accident. Tami's seat was reclined so that her shoulder belt was slack. She slid under the lap belt and her spine was crushed from the force.
While seat belts are thought to protect people from ejection, especially during vehicle rollovers, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen found that almost 20 percent of rollover fatalities included passengers who wore seat belts and that 10 percent of these deaths included ejection. One third of traffic fatalities are due to rollover accidents, according to US Auto Injury Law.
"Seat belt syndrome" refers to seat belt injuries, reports NHTSA. Safety belts direct decelerative force to the body. The shoulder and lap belt system can result in injuries to the cervical spine and neck, the thoracic or upper chest level of the spine and the lumbar or lower region of the spine. This deceleration force can also harm the organs and tissue within the abdomen and the thorax, reports NHTSA.
Another seat belt danger is an increase in risk-taking behavior. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) does not recommend the use of back belts for workers, for instance, because they give people a false sense of security and strength. Workers may lift more weight than they normally would when wearing a back belt and increase their risk of injury. So too, as risk expert John Adams of the University College London believes, can safety belt use increase traffic accident fatalities. Drivers who feel safe may engage in riskier driving than they would have if they weren't wearing a seat belt.
