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Do Seat Belts Pose Safety Hazard To Older, Smaller Drivers?

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Seat belts save thousands of lives every year, but is there a way to make them even safer?

CBS News reports seat belts are designed to keep the average 40-year-old man safe in a crash, however the amount of force required to keep a 40-year-old male in place may be enough to injure another smaller driver.

CBS uses an example of a woman who ended up in a neck brace after a Jeep backed into her car. Her seat belt kept her in the seat, but researchers believe it may have contributed to her concussion and back injuries.

Pam Sohn tells CBS News correspondent Kris Van Cleave, "I probably would've went through the window or something the way I was moving around had I not had it on, but it didn't do what I thought it would."

Professor John Bolte, of the Ohio State University College of Medicine, would like to see a change.

He tells CBS News, "If a car can drive today without a person controlling it, why can't we have a safety system that can respond to better save someone?"

Bolte is using crash tests to determine the amount of force needed to protect drivers who may be more fragile, for example older and smaller individuals.

The goal, he says, is to have seat belts adjust to the person they are protecting.

CBS News reports 43 million U.S. drivers are over 65; nearly one in every five drivers and their ranks are only expected to increase.

"Seat belts do their jobs and they do their jobs very well -- let's raise the bar higher. My job is to try to improve safety such that no one is being injured," Bolte said.

At the end of the day, researchers still urge everyone to wear seat belts, no matter their size and age.

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