In article m,
Savageduck wrote:

And the world stands shocked, both at your arrogance, and ignorance of
what a seatbelt in a car is primarily for :-D

It's for nasty crashes, what else? And since those don't happen often
(especially in town driving), there's no point in wearing one.

Except when you are rear-ended, or T-boned by texting fool.

seat belts don't matter in a rear-end collision because a person will
be pulled back into the seat.

There is inevitably a whiplash effect, which depending on the severity of a
rear impact can result in front seat passenger and driver impacting the dash
and/or steering column with potential head injuries. The airbags will not
usually deploy in a rear-ender.

the main impact will cause the occupants to move back into the seat.
that's why there have been headrests for *years*. you no doubt remember
cars without them. there will be a secondary forward motion that's not
as severe as if it was frontal collision.

with a t-bone side collision, it could go either way. a seat belt would
hold a person in place which could make things worse, or it could
prevent an ejection, preventing a worse outcome.

So, which is it? Better or worse?

it depends on the particulars of the collision, which is impossible to
predict.

From what I have seen, one is better equipped to survive an accident if a
seat belt is used.

in general seat belts help, but they are not a guarantee that things
will be better. there are situations in which it can be worse.

since it's impossible to know in advance what type of collision will
occur (if one does at all), you just have play the odds. most of the
time it helps but sometimes it doesn't.

BTW: This is where side curtain air bags can help reduce injuries.

sometimes.

for those who have the recalled takata airbags, not so much:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/n...g-you-need-to-
know-about-the-takata-air-bag-recall/index.htm
At the heart of the problem is the airbag¹s inflator, a metal
cartridge loaded with propellant wafers, which in some cases has
ignited with explosive force. If the inflator housing ruptures in a
crash, metal shards from the airbag can be sprayed throughout the
passenger cabin‹a potentially disastrous outcome from a supposedly
life-saving device.

there are no guarantees.

a driver who is paying attention would be able to avoid either scenario.

Avoid being hit from behind by an inattentive asshole, or being T-boned by a
red light runner just by paying attention??

both.

That just doesn¹t happen too often.

that's because most drivers are not very good.