I was in a car accident when I tried to avoid another car that slid into my lane. The back part of the Jeep hit a telephone pole and then I slid in the ice and hit a tree head on. Police estimated the speed I hit at was 30 mph. None of the airbags deployed and my seat belt didn't lock up when the brake was on so I hit the windshield and steering wheel.

- Lexington Park, MD, USA

I was driving northbound in the 1996 Jeep (a federal government vehicle) on a multiple lane divided highway (posted speed limit of 45 mph) and came to a complete stop at an intersection for a red light. My vehicle was the first northbound car to stop at the intersection. I was wearing my seat belt and shoulder harness with my foot on the brake while stopped here. Several seconds later, an inattentive driver in a pickup truck collided into the left-rear portion of my vehicle at a witness-estimated speed of about 30 mph. Following the impact, the shoulder restraint system did not restrain my upper body. As a consequence, my head hit the steering wheel with sufficent force to cause multiple head and neck trauma including contusions, lacerations, muscle strain, a fractured nasal bone and septum, a severe headache, lingering pain, and delayed vertigo. My injuries would have been much more severe had I been wearing my eyeglasses or sunglasses. The Jeep was propelled through the controlled intersection and eventually came to a stop in the southbound left-hand turn lane; it did not collide with any other objects. I expressed my concerns to daimler-Chrysler officials about the "apparent" failure of the shoulder restraint system to prevent my injuries and they launched an investigation. Their findings were that "the shoulder restraint system was not designed to restrain the driver in a rear end collision". if this is the case and if the shoulder restraint mechanism in this Jeep is the current automotive industry standard in the U.S., then I would recommend federal regulations requiring vehicle manufacturers to: (1)design an improved industry-wide shoulder restaint system(s) to better protect motor vehicle operators and passengers from sustaining traumatic head injuries in rear-end collisions; (2)install such an improved restraint system in all new autos and trucks; and (3)provide opportunities to install these improved restraints in vehicles made earlier.

- Onalaska, WI, USA