Question:

In a motor vehicle accident, the use of a seat belt is expected to result in all of the following EXCEPT

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Three of these are textbook parts of "seat belt syndrome" - one involves structures the belt's force doesn't really reach.
Updated On: Jul 16, 2026
  • Reduced incidence of severe thoracic injury
  • Occurrence of small intestine and mesenteric injury
  • Increased severity of decelerating head injury
  • Trauma to major intra-abdominal vessels
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
This question is about the recognised pattern of injuries caused by wearing a seat belt in a road traffic accident, often called "seat belt syndrome", and asks which of the listed effects is NOT a typical part of that pattern.

Step 2: Key Concept or Approach:
A seat belt changes the distribution of crash forces on the body. It reduces the chance of being thrown into the windscreen or steering wheel (protecting the chest), but it concentrates compressive force across the abdomen and can produce a sudden forward-flexion jolt at the head and neck, since the torso is held back while the head is not.

Step 3: Working Through the Options:
A reduced incidence of severe thoracic injury is expected, because the belt prevents the chest from striking the steering wheel or dashboard. Small intestine and mesenteric injury is the classic "seat belt syndrome" finding, caused by the lap belt compressing bowel loops against the spine. Increased severity of decelerating head injury is also a recognised effect - because the torso is restrained while the head keeps moving forward, the head and neck experience an exaggerated flexion-deceleration force, a well documented seat belt-related injury pattern. Trauma to major intra-abdominal vessels (the aorta, vena cava, or iliac vessels), however, is not the classic seat belt injury - the belt's compressive force is concentrated on the bowel, mesentery and lumbar spine, not on the deep major vessels, so this is the effect that is NOT typically expected.

Step 4: Conclusion:
Trauma to major intra-abdominal vessels is the option that is not an expected effect of seat belt use.
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